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JEFFERSON'S 

NOTES, 

ON   THE 

State  of  Virginia  3 

WITH   THE 
A  P  P  E  N  D  I  X  E  S— COMPLETE. 

To  which  is  subjoined, 
A   SUBLIME    AND    ARGUMENTATIVE 

ON 

Mr.    Jefferson's 

RELIGIOUS  PRINCIPLES, 

33altimace : 

Printed  by  "VV.  PECHIN,  corner  of  Water  Sc  Gay-streets. 

1800^ 


Sltbcitiocmcitt, 


—■■<<■■  *<'r>- >■>■*" — 


THE  following  Notes  were  written  in  Virginia,  in  the 
year  1781,  and  foraewhat  corrected  and  enlarged  in  the 
winter  of  1782,  in  anfwcr  to  Queries  propofed  to  the  Au- 
thor, by  a  Foreigner  of  Diftinftion,  then  refiding  among 
us.  The  fubjefts  are  all  treated  imperfe(Stly  j  fome  fcarce- 
ly  touched  on.  To  apologize  for  this  by  developing  the 
circumftances  of  the  time  and  place  of  their  compofition, 
would  be  to  open  wounds  which  have  already  bled  enough. 
To  thefe  circumftances  fome  of  their  imperfeftions  may  with 
tru*:h  be  afcribed  ;  the  great  mafs  to  the  want  cf  informa- 
tion end  want  of  talents  in  the  writer.  He  had  a  few 
copies  printed,  which  he  gave  among  his  friends  :  and  a 
trariflation  of  them  has  been  lately  pubhfhed  in  France,  but 
with  fuch  alterations  as  the  laws  of  the  prefs  in  that  country 
rendered  neceifary.  They  are  now  offered  to  the  public 
in  their  original  form  and  language. 

Fii.  27,  1787. 


1.  BOUNDARIES  of  Virginia,  Page  5 

2.  Rivers,  5 

3.  Sea- forts,                                  «  i^ 

4.  Mountains,  ibid. 

5.  Caf cades.  22 

6.  Produdions,  mineral,  'vegetable,  and  ani?nal,  26 

7.  Climate,  yg 

8.  Population,  88 

9.  Military  force,             ^                                  -  94 

10.  Marine  force,  g6 

1 1 .  Aborigines,  ibid . 

12.  Counties  a?id  towns,                                      '  no 

13.  Conjlitution,  112 

14.  Laws,  133 

15.  Colleges,  buildings,  and  roads,  152 

16.  Proceedings  as  to  Tories,  157 

17.  Religion,  158 

18.  Mamiers,  163 

19.  Manufactures,  165 

20.  Subjeds  of  commerce,  166 

21.  Weights,  me afures  and  money,  170 

22.  Public  revenue  and  cxpenccs,  172 

23.  Hif  cries,  mejuorials  andflate-papers,  iy6 

APPENDIX,  m  /.  //.  ///.  &  7r.  follow  in  regular 

order. 


Ai 


lEFFERSON's 

9UE  RT   I. 


_N  cxaSl  defcript'.Gii  of  the  limits  and  boundaries  of  the 
Jlate  (?/■  Virginia  ? 

Virginia  is  bounded  on  the  Faft  by  the  Atlantic  :  on  the 
North  by  a  h'ne  of  latitude,  crolfing  the  Laftern  Shore 
through  Watkins's  Point,  being  about  '^']^ .  57' North  la- 
titude ;  from  thence  by  a  ftraight  line  to  Cinquac,  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Patowmac  ;  thence  by  the  Patowmac, 
which  is  common  to  Virginia  and  Maryland,  to  the  fird 
fountain  of  its  northern  branch  :  thence  by  a  meridian 
line,  paffing  through  that  fountain  till  it  interfecls  a  line 
running  Eaft  and  Weft,  in  latitude  39.°  43'.  42.4''''.  which 
divides  Maryland  from  Pennfylvania,  and  which  was  mark- 
ed by  Meflrs.  Mafon  and  Dixon  ;  thence  by  that  line,  and 
a  continuation  of  it  weftwardly  to  the  completion  of  five 
degrees  of  longitude  from  the  eaftern  boundary  of  Penn- 
fylvania, in  the  fame  latitude,  and  thence  by  a  meridian 
line  to  the  Ohio  on  the  Weft  by  the  Ohio  and  Miffifipi, 
to  latitude  36°.  30'.  North:  and  on  the  South  by  the  line 
of  latitude  laft  mentioned.  By  admeafurements  through 
nearly  the  whole  of  this  laft  hne,  and  fupplying  the  unmca- 
fured  parts  from  good  data,  the  Atlantic  and  Miffifipi  are 
found  in  this  latitude  to  be  758  miles  diftant,  equal  to  30°. 
38'.  of  longitude,  reckoning  55  miles  and  3 144  feet  to  the 
degree.  Thisbeing  our  comprehenfion  of  longitude,  that 
of  our  latitude,  taken  between  this  and  Mafon  and  Dixon' 5 
line,  18  3".   i3\  42.4/ equal   to  223.3  miles,  fuppofing  a 

B 


i     6     ) 

^e^ree  of  a  great  circle  to  be  69  ni.  8641.  as  compirted 
by  Cairuii.  Thefe  boundaries  include  an  area  Ibmewhat 
tr.'"'.-:  ;^l:Ir,  of  121,  525  fquarc  miles,  whereof  79,650  lie 
\vv.itward  of  the  Alieghaney  mountains,  and  57,034  we(i- 
waid  of  ihe  mev.'ian  of  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanhaway. 
'1  his  {late  is  therefore  one  third  jjifger  than  the  iflands  of 
Great-Britain,  and  Ireland,  which  are  reckoned  at  88^357 
fquare  miles. 

Thefe  limits  refult  from,  i.  The  ancient  charters  from 
the  crown  6f  England.  2.  The  grant  of  Maryland  to  the 
Lord  Baltimore,  and  the  fubfequent  determinations  of  the 
Bridih  court  as  to  the  extent  of  that  grant.  3.  The  grant 
of  Pennfylvania  to  William  Penn,  and  a  compatt  between 
the  general  aifemblies  of  the  commonv.'ealths  of  Virginia 
and  Pennfylvania  as  to  the  extent  of  that  grant.  4.  The 
grant  of  Carolina,  and  aflual  location  of  its  northern 
boundary,  by  confent  of  both  parties.  5.  The  treaty  of 
Paris  of  1763.  6.  The  confirmation  of  the  charters  of 
the  neighbouring  ftates  by  the  convention  of  Virginia  at  the 
time  of  conftituting  their  com.monwealth.  7.  The  cef- 
fion  made  by  Virginiato  Congrefs  of  all  the  lands  to  which 
they  had  title  on  the  North  fide  of  the  Ohio. 


^UERT 


ji\.  NOTICE  of  its  rivers,  rivulets,  and  how  far  they  are 
navigable  ? 

An  infpeiflion  of  a  map  of  Virginia,  will  give  a  better  i- 
dea  of  the  geography  of  its  rivers,  than  any  defcription  in. 
writing.     Their  navigation  may  be  imperfeO:ly  noted. 

Roanoke,  fo  far  as  it  lies  within  this  ftate,  is  no  where  na- 
vigable, but  for  canoes,  or  light  batteaux  ;  and  even  for 
thefe,  in  fuch  detached  parcels  as  to  have  prevented  the 
inhabitants  from  a vailiHg  themfelves  of  it  at  all- 

James  River,  and  its  waters,  afford  navigation  as  fo!~ 
lows. 

The  whole  of  Elizabeth  River,  the  lowed  of  thofe  which 
run  into  James  River,  is  a  harbour,  and  would  contain 
upwards  of  300  Ihips.     The  channel  is  from  150  to  ioo 


(     7     ) 

faihoiu  wide,  and  at  common  flood  tide,  affords  18  feet 
water  to  Noriblk.  The  Straflord,  a  60  gun  fliip,  wei:t 
there,  lightei\iuL;  herfelf  to  crols  the  bar  at  So. veil's  Point. 
The  Ficr  Rodrigue,  pierctd  fcr  64  guns,  and  carrying 
50,  went  there  without  lighteninr;.  Craney  ifland,  at  the 
mouth  of  this  river,  comiuandsu^  channel  tolerabiy  well. 

Natifcmond Rhcr  h  navi^;;ible  to  S!  cpy  Hole,  i.  r  vefltlii 
of  250  tons  >  to  Suffolk,  i'or  thofi^  or  ico  ton-j ;  and  to 
Milner's  for  ihofe  of  25. 

Pagin  Creek  affords  8  or  10  feet  v^tcr  to  Sniithfield, 
which  admits  veffcls  of  20  tons. 

Chlckahom'wj  has  at  its  mouth  a  bar,  en  which  :s  only 
12  feet  water  at  common  flood  tide.  Veffels  pafling  that, 
may  go  8  miles  up  the  river  ;  thofe  of  1  o  feet  draught 
may  go  four  miles  further,  and  thofe  of  fix  tons  burthen, 
20  miles  further. 

A'paiihUtc:-:  may  be  navigated  as  far  as  Broadways,  by 
any  vcflel  which  has  crofled  Harrifon's  bar  in  James  River  ; 
it  keeps  S  or  lo  feet  water  a  mile  or  two  higher  up  to 
Fiflier'sbai-,  and  4  feet  on  that  and  upwards  to  Peterfburgh, 
where  all  navigation  ceafes. 

'James  River  itfelf  affords  harbour  for  veffels  of  any  fize 
in  Hampton  Road,  but  not  in  fafecy  through  the  whole 
winter  ;  and  there  is  navigable  water  for  them  as  far  as 
Mulberry  Ifland.  A  40  gun  fliip  goes  to  James  town,  and 
lightening  hcrfclf,  may  pafs  to  Harrifon's  bar,  on  which 
there  is  only  15  feet  water..  Veffels  of  7.50  ::ons  may  go 
to  Warwick  ;  thofe  of  125  go  to  Rocket's,  a  mile  below 
Richmond  ;  from  thence  is  about  7  feet  water  to  Rich- 
mond ;  and  about  the  centre  of  the  town,  four  feet  and 
a  half,  where  the  navigation  is  interrupted  by  falls,  which 
in  a  courfe  of  fix  miles,  defcend  about  80  feet  perpendicu- 
lar :  above  thefe  it  is  refumed  in  canoes,  and  batteaux, 
and  is  profecuted  faiely  and  advantageoufly  to  within  10 
miles  of  the  Blue  Ridge;  and  even  through  the  Blue 
Ridge  a  ton  weight  has  been  brought ;  and  the  expcnce 
would  not  be  great,  wiien  compared  with  its  object,  to  o- 
pen  a  tolerable  navigation  up  Jackfon's  river  and  Carpen- 
ter's creek,  to  within  25  miles  of  Howard's  creek  of  Green 
Briar,  both  of  which  have  then  water  enough  to  float 
veflels into  the  Great  Kanhaway.     In  fome  future  flatc  of 

B  2 


(    s    ) 

population,  I  think  it  polTible  that  its  navigation  may  alfo 
be  made  to  interlock  with  that  of  the  Patowmac,  and 
through  that  to  communicate  by  a  fiiort  portage  with  the 
Ohio.  It  is  to  be  noted,  that  this  river  is  called  in  the 
maps  James  River,  only  to  its  confluence  with  the  Rivan- 
na  :  thence  to  the  Blue  Ridge  it  is  called  the  Fluvanna  ; 
and  thence  to  its  fource,  Jackfon's  river.  But  in  common 
fpeech  it  is  called  James  River  to  its  fource. 

The  Rivanna,  2.  branch  of  James  River,  is  navigable 
for  canoes  and  hatteaux  to  its  interfedioa  with  the  South 
Weft  mountains,  which  is  about  22  miles  :  and  may  eafi- 
ly  be  opened  to  navigation  through  thefe  mountains  to  its 
fork  above  Charlottefville. 

7ork  Ri-vsr,  at  York  town,  affords  the  befl  harbour  in 
the  (late  for  veflels  of  the  largeft  fize.  The  river  there 
narrows  to  the  width  of  a  mile,  and  is  contained  within 
very  high  banks,  clofe  under  which  the  veifeis  may  ride. 
It  holds  4  fathom  water  at  high  tide  for  25  miles  above 
York  to  the  mouth  of  Poropotank,  where  the  river  is  a 
mile  and  a  half  wide,  and  the  channel  only  75  fathom,  and 
paffing  under  a  high  bank.  At  the  confluence  of  Pomiin- 
key  and  Mattapo.iy,  it  is  reduced  to  3  fathoms  depth,  which 
continues  up  Pamunkey  to  Cumberland,  where  the  width 
is  100  yards,  and  up  Mattapony  to  within  two  miles  of 
Frazer's  ferry, where  it  becomes  2]  fathom  deep,  and  holds 
that  about  five  miles..  Pamunkey  is  then  capable  of  navi- 
gation for  loaded  flats  to  Brockman's  bridge,  fifty  miles  a- 
bo\e  Hanover  town,  and  Mattapony  to  Downers  bridge, 
70  miles  above  its  mouth. 

Piankatank,  the  little  rivers  making  out  o^  Molyack  Bay 
and  thofe  of  the  Eajiern  Shore,  receive  only  very  fmall  vef- 
fels,  and  thefe  can  but  enter  them. 
Rappahannock  affords  4  fathom  water  to  Hobb's  hole,  and 

2  fathom  from  thence  to  Frederickfburg. 

Patowmac  is  71  wide  at  the  mouth  /  4-i-  at  Nomony  bay; 

3  at  Aquia;  i|  at  Hollooing  point;  i|at  Alexandria. 
Its  foundings  are  7  fathom  at  the  mouth  ;  5  at  St.  George's 
ifland ;  4!  at  Lower  Matchodic  ;  3  at  Swan's  point, 
and  thence  up  to  Alexandria  ;  thence  10  feet  water  to  the 
falls,  which  are  13  miles  above  Alexandria.  Thefe  falls 
are  15  miles  in  length,  and  of  very  great  defcent,  and  the 
navigation  above  them  for  batteaux  and  canoes,  is  fo  much 


(     0     ) 

interrupted  as  to  be  little  ufecl.  It  is,  however,  ufed  In  a 
Imall  degree  up  the  Cohongoronta  branch  as  far  as  Fort 
Cumberland,  \Ahich  was  at  the  mouth  of  Wills's  creek"; 
and  Is  capable,  at  no  great  expence,  of  being  rendered  ve- 
ry practicable.  The  Shenandoah  branch  Interlocks  with 
James  river  about  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  may  perhaps  In  la- 
ture  be  opened. 

The  Mr////Jpi  will  be  one  of  the  principal  channels  of  fu- 
ture commerce  for  the  country  weflward  oi  theAlleghaney. 
From  the  mouth  of  this  river  to' where  it  receives  the  Ohio, 
is  looo  miles  by  water,  but  only  500  by  land,  palling 
through  the  Chlekaiaw  country.  From  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio  to  that  of  the  MiiTourl,  is  230  miles  by  water,  and 
140  by  land.  From  thence  to  the  mouth  of  the  IllinoI.<; 
river,  is  about  25  miles.  The  Milliri})i,  below  the  mouth 
of  the  Mifiburi,  is  always  muddy,  an  J  abounding  with 
fand  bars,  which  frequently  change  their  places.  How- 
ever, it  carries  15  feet  water  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio, 
to  which  place  it  is  from  one  and  a  half  to  two  miles  wide, 
and  thence  to  Kafkafkia  from  one  mile  to  a  mile  and  a 
quarter  wide.  Its  current  is  fo  rapid,  that  it  never  can  be 
Itemmed  by  the  force  of  the  wind  alone,  acting  on  fails. 
Any  veilel,  hov;evcr,  navigated  with  oars,  may  come  up 
at  any  time,  and  receive  much  aid  from  the  wind. 
A  batteau  paffes  from  the  mouth  of  Ohio  to  the 
mouth  of  Miuifipl  in  three  weeks,  and  is  from  two  to  three 
months  getting  up  again.  During  its  floods,  which  are 
periodical  as  thofe  of  the  Nile,  the  largeft  veflels  may  pafs 
down  it,  if  their  fteerage  can  be  infured.  Thefe  Hoods 
begin  in  Apr!',  and  the  river  returns  into  its  banks  early 
in  Auguft.  The  inundation  extends  further  on  the 
weftern  than  eaftern  fide,  covering  the  lands  in  fome 
places  for  50  miles  from  its  banks.  Above  the  mouth  of 
the  MIffouri,  it  becomes  much  fuch  a  river  as  the  Ohio, 
like  it  clear,  and  gentle  in  its  current,  not  quite  fo  wide, 
the  period  of  its  Hoods  nearly  the  fame,  but  not  rlhng  to 
fo  great  a  height.  The  (Irects  of  the  village  at  Cohoes  are 
not  more  than  10  feet  above  the  ordinary  level  of  the  wa- 
ter, and  yet  were  never  overflowed.  Its  bed  deepens  eve- 
ry year.  Cohoes,  in  the  memory  of  many  people  now 
living,  was  infulated  by  every  flood  of  the  river'.     What 


(       10       ) 

was  the  eaflern  channel  has  now  become  a  lake,  9  mlies- 
in  length  and  one  ia  width,  into  which  the  liver  at  this 
day  never  flows.  This  river  yields  turtle  of  a  peculiar 
kind,  perch,  trout,  gar,  pike,  mullets,  herrings,  carp,  Tpa- 
tula-fiib  of  5olb.  weight,  cat-fiih  of  loolb.  weight,  buffalo 
fifli,  and  ilurgeon.  Aligators  or  crocodiles  have  been 
feen  as  high  up  asthe  Acanfas.  It  alfo  abounds  in  her- 
ons, cranes,  ducks,  brant,  geefe,  and  fwans.  Its  paiTage 
is  cotnmanded  by  a  fort  eitablifhed  by  this  ftate,  five 
miles  below  the  mouth  of  Ohio,  and  ten  miles  above  the 
Carolina  boundary. 

The  Miifouri,  fmce  the  treaty  of  Paris,  the  Illinois  and 
northern  branches  of  the  Ohio,  fmce  the  ceiTion  of  Con- 
grcfs,  are  no  longer  within  our  limits.  Yet  having  been 
ib  heretofore,  and  (till  opening  to  us  channels  of  extenfive 
communication  with  the  weitern  and  north-wellern  coun-- 
try,  they  fnall  be  noted  in  their  order. 

The  Miffouri  is,  in  faci,  the  principal  river,  contributing" 
more  to  the  common  fl-ream  than  docs  the  Miffifipi,  even 
after  its  junftion  with  the  Illinois.  It  is  remarkably  cold, 
muddy  and  rapid.  Its  overflowings  are  confiderable.  They 
happen  during  the  months  of  June  and  July.  Their  com- 
mencement being  fo  much  later  than  thofe  of  the  Miflifipi^ 
would  induce  a  belief  that  the  fources  of  the  MiiTouri  are 
northward  of  thofe  of  the  MifTifipi,  unlefs  we  fuppofe  that 
the  cold  increafes  again  with  the  afcent  of  the  land  from 
the  Miiiifipi  weflwardly.  That  this  afcent  is  great,  is  prov- 
ed by  the  rapidity  of  the  river.  Six  miles  above  the 
mouth  it  is  brought  within  the  compafs  of  a  quarter  of  a 
mile's  width  :  yet  the  Spanifli  merchants  at  Pancore,  or 
St.  Louis,  fay  they  go  two  thoufand  miles  up  it.  It  heads 
far  waitward  of  the  Rio  Norte,  or  North  River,  There  is 
in  the  villages  of  Kafl^aflda,  Cohoes  and  St.  Vincennes,  no 
inconfiderable  quantity  of  plate,  faid  to  have  been  plun- 
dered during  the  lafl;  war  by  the  Indians  from  the  church- 
es and  private  houfes  of  Santa  Fe',' on  the  North  river, 
and  brought  to  thofe  villages  for  fale.  From  the  mouth 
of  Ohio  to  Santa  Fe  are  Ibrty  days  journey,  or  about  looo 
miles.  What  is  the  fliortefl  diftance  between  the  naviga- 
ble waters  of  the  Miflburi,  and  thofe  of  the  North  river, 
or  how  far  this  is  navigable  above  Santa  Fc,  I  could  never 


c 


1 1 


learn.  From  Santa  Fe  to  its  mouth  in  the  Gulph  of  Mexi- 
co is  about  1200  miles.  The  road  from  New  Orleans  to 
Mexico  croHes  this  river  at  the  port  of  Rio  Norte,  800 
miles  below  Santa  Fe'  :  and  from  this  poft  to  New  Orleans 
is  about  1  200  miles  ;  thus  making  200O  miles  between 
Santa  Fe  and  New  Orleans,  palling  down  the  North  river. 
Red  river  &  MilUfipi  ;  whereas  it  is  2230  through  the  Mif- 
fouri  Sc  Milfifipi.  From  the  fame  poll:  of  Rio  Norte,  palling 
near  the  mines  of  La  Sierra  <y  Laiguana,  which  arebetwetii 
North  river  &  the  river  Salina  to  theSartilla,  is  375  miles;  & 
from  thence,  palling  the  mines  oi:  Charcas,  Zaccatecas  and 
Potofi,  to  the  city  of  Mexico  is  375  miles  :  in  all,  1550 
miles  from  Santa  Fe  to  the  city  ot  M  .xico.  From  New 
Orleans  to  the  city  of  Mexico  is  about  1950  miles  :  the 
roads,  after  fetting  out  from  the  Red  river,  near  Natchito- 
ches, keeping  generally  parallel  with  the  coad,  and  about 
two  hundred  miles  from  it,  till  it  enters  the  city  of  Mexico. 

The  lllincis  is  a  fme  river,  clear,  gentle,  and  with- 
out rapids;  infomuch  that  it  is  navigable  for  batteaux 
to  its  fource.  From  thence  is  a  portage  of  iwo  miles 
only  to  the  Chickago,  which  affords  a  batteau  naviga- 
tion cf  16  miles  to  its  entrance  into  lake  Michigan. 
The  llhnois,  about  10  miles  above  its  mouth,  is  300 
yards  wide. 

The  KaJI;aJkia  Is  100  yards  wide  at  Its  entrance  Into 
the  Miififipi,  and  preferves  that  breadth  to  the  Buffalo 
plains,  yo  miles  above.  So  far  alfo  it  is  navigable  for 
loaded  batt^aux,  and  perhaps  much  further.  It  is  not 
rapid. 

The  Ohio  is  the  moft  beautiful  river  on  earth. 
Its  current  gentle,  waters  clear,  and  bofom  fmooth  and 
unbroken  by  rocks  and  rapids,  a  fmgle  inftance  only 
excepted. 

It  is  ^  of  a  mile  wide  at  Fort  Pitt : 

500  yards  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanhaway  : 

I  mile  and  25  poles  at  Lewifville : 

7  of  a  mile  on  the  rapids,  three  or  four  miles  below 
Loulfville : 

\  a  mile  where  the  low  country  begins,  which  is  20 
miles  above  Green  river  : 

i-^  at  the  receipt  of  the  TennifTee: 

And  a  mile  wide  at  the  mouth. 


(       12       ) 

Its  length,    as    meafared  according  to  its    meanders 
by  Capr.  Hutchins,  is  as  toilovvs : 
From  Fort  Pitt 

Miles.  Miles. 


To  Log's  town 

18^ 

Lirtle  Miami 

126^ 

Big-  Beaver  creek 

ic| 

Lickinp;  cret'k 

8 

Little  Beaver  creek 

13I- 

Great  Miami 

26I 

Yellow  creek 

lU 

Big  Bones 

321: 

Two  creeks 

2ii 

Kentucky 

44-1- 

Long  reach 

53i 

R.ipids 

771 

End  Long  reach 

ib.- 

.  Low  counny 

I5f 

Miif;<lngum 

25i 

Buffalo  river 

64t 

Little  Kanhaway 

•i^f 

Wabalh 

97^ 

Hockho(  king 

16 

Big  Cave 

4n 

Great  Kanhaway 

-      82' 

Sh.iwanee  river- 

5^r 

Guiandot 

4^ 

Cherokee  river 

13 

Sandy  creek 

i4l 

Maffac 

ir 

Sioto 

48i 

Mlffillpi 

46 

II88 
In  common  winter  and  iprlng  tides  It  affords  15  feet 
water  to  Louifville,  10  feet  to  Le  Tarte's  rapids,  40  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanhaway,  and  a  fuffici- 
ency  at  all  times  for  light  batteaux  and  canoes  to  Fort 
Pitt.  The  rapids  are  in  latitude  38°  8^.  Ihe  inunda- 
tion of  this  river  begin  about  the  lad  of  March,  and  fub- 
fide  in  July.  During  thefe  a  firft  rate  man  of  war  may 
be  carried  from  Louifville  to  New  Orleans,  if  the  fudden 
turns  of  the  river  and  the  ftrength  of  the  current  will 
admit  a  fafe  fleerage.  The  rapids  at  Louifville  defcend 
about  30  feet  in  a  length  of  a  mile  and  a  half.  The  bed 
of  the  river  there  is  a  folid  rock,  and  is  divided  by  an 
illand  into  two  branches,  the  fouthern  of  which  is  about 
200  yards  wide,  and  is  dry  4  months  in  the  year.  Ihe 
bed  of  the  northern  branch  is  worn  into  channels  by 
the  conftant  courfe  of  the  water,  and  attrition  of  the 
pebble  ftones  carried  on  with  that,  fo  as  to  be  paffable 
for  batteaux  through  the  greater  part  of  the  year.  Yet 
it  is  thought  that  the  fouthern  arm  may  be  the  moft 
eafily  opened  for  conftant  navigation.  The  rife  of  the 
"u^aters  in  thefe  rapids  does  not  exceed  10  or  12  feet. 
A  part  of  this  Ifland  is  fo  high  as  to  have  been  never 
overflowed,  and  to  command  the  fettlement  at  Louifvil- 
le, which  is  oppofite  to  it.  The  fort,  however,  is  fitu- 
ated  at  the  head  of  the  falls.  The  ground  on  the  fouth 
fide  rifes  very  gradually. 


(     '3     ) 

The  Tanl^ec',  Cherokee  or  Hogohege  river  is  600  yards' 
*vide  at  its  mouth,  -j  of  a  mile  at  the  mouth  of  Holrton, 
and  200  yards  at  Chotee,  which  is  20  miles  above  Hoi. 
flan,  and  300  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Taniflee. 
This  river  crofles  the  fouthern  boundary  of  Virginia, 
50  miles  from  the  Mifllfipi.  Its  current  is  moderate. 
It  is  navigable  for  loaded  boats  of  any  burthen  to  the 
Mufclc  fhoals,  where  the  river  pafles  through  the  Cum- 
berland mountain.  Thefe  fiioals  are  6  or  8  miles  long, 
pafl'able  downwards  for  loaded  canoes,  but  not  upwards, 
unlefs  there  be  a  fwell  in  the  river.  Above  thefe  the 
navigation  for  loaded  canoes  and  batteaux  continues  to 
the  Long  ifland.  This  river  has  its  inundations  alfo. 
Above  the  Chickamogga  towns  is  a  whirlpool  called  the 
Sucking-pot,  which  takes  in  trunks  of  trees  or  boats, 
and  throws  them  out  again  half  a  mile  below.  It  is  a- 
voided  by  keeping  very  clofe  to  the  bank,  on  the  South 
fide.  There  are  but  a  few  miles  portage  between  a 
branch  of  this  river  and  the  navigable  waters  of  the  riv- 
er Mobile,  which  runs  into  the'Gulph  of  Mexico. 

Cumberland,  or  Shawanee  river,  interfcds  the  bounda- 
ry between  Virginia  and  North  Carolina  67  miles  from 
the  Miflifipl,  and  again  198  miles  from  the  fame  river, 
a  little  above  the  entrance  of  Obey*s  river  into  the 
Cumberland.  Its  Clear  fork  croiTes  the  fame  bounda- 
ry about  ;co  miles  from  the  MifTifipi.  Cumberland  is 
a  very  gentle  ftream,  navigable  for  loaded  batteaux  800 
miles,  without  interruption ;  then  intervene  feme  ra- 
pids of  15  miles  in  length,  after  which  it  is  again  navi- 
gable 70  miles  upwards,  which  brings  you  within  10 
miles  of  the  Cumberland  mountains.  It  is  about  120 
yards  wide  through  its  whole  courfe,  from  the  head  of 
its  navigation  to  its  mouth. 

The  Wahnjlj  is  a  very  beautiful  river,  400  yards  wide 
at  the  mouth,  and  300  at  St.  Vincennes,  which  is  a  poft 
100  miles  above  the  mouth,  in  a  direct  line.  Within 
this  fpace  there  are  two  fmall  rapids,  which  give  very 
little  obRruclion  to  the  navigation.  It  is  400  yards  wide 
at  the  mouth,  and  navigable  30  leagues  upwards  for  ca- 
noes and  fmall  boats.  From  the  mouth  of  Maple  liver 
to  that  of  Eel  river  is  about  So  miles  in  a  dired  line, 

C 


(    14    ) 

the  river  continuing  navigable,  and  frora  one  to  two 
hundred  yards  in  width.  The  Eel  river  is  i^o  yards 
wide,  and  affords  at  all  times  navigation  for  periaguas, 
to  within  i8  miles  of  the  Miami  of  the  Lake.  The 
Wabafh,  from  the  mouth  of  Eel  river  to  Little  river, 
a  diftance  of  50  miles  dire£t,  is  interrupted  with  fre- 
quent rapids  and  fhoals,  which  obftrud  the  navigation, 
except  in  a  fwell.  Little  river  affords  navigation  dur- 
ing a  fwell  to  within  3  miles  of  the  Miami,  which 
thence  affords  a  fimilar  navigation  into  Lake  Erie,  100 
miles  in  a  dired  line.  The  Wabafh  overflows  periodi- 
cally in  correfpondence  with  the  Ohio,  and  in  feme 
places  two  leagues  from  its  banks. 

Green  river  is  navigable  for  loaded  batteaux  at  all  times 
50  miles  upwards ;  but  it  is  then  interrupted  by  impaffa- 
ble  rapids,  above  which  the  navigation  again  commences, 
and  continues  good  30  or  40  miles  to  the  mouth  of  Bar- 
ren river. 

Kentucky  river  is  90  yards  wide  at  the  mouth,  and 
alfo  at  Boonfborough,  Ho  miles  above.  It  affords  a  nur 
vigation  for  loaded  batteaux  180  miles  in  a  dired  line, 
in  the  winter  tides. 

The  Great  Miami  of  the  Ohio,  is  200  yards  wide  at 
the  mouth.  At  the  Piccawee  towns,  7;^  miles  above., 
it  is  reduced  to  30  yards ;  it  is»  neverthelefs,  nav  gable 
for  loaded  canoes  50  miles  above  thefe  towns.  The  por- 
tage from  its  weftern  branch  into  Miami  of  Lake  Erie., 
is  5  miles ;  that  from  its  eaflcrn  branch  into  Sanduiky 
river,  is  of  9  miles. 

Salt  River  is  at  all  times  navigable  for  loaded  bat- 
teaux 70  or  80  miles.  It  is  %o  yards  wide  at  its  mouth, 
and  keeps  that  width  to  its  fork,  25  miles  above. 

The  Little  Miami  of  the  Ohio,  is  60  or  70  yards, 
wide  at  its  mouth,  60  miles  to  its  fource,  and  affords 
no  navigation. 

The  Sioio  is  250  yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  which  is  in 
latitude  380  22^  and  at  the  Saltlick  towns,  200  miles 
above  the  mouth,  it  is  yet  loo  yards  wide.  To  thefe 
towns  it  is  navigable  for  loaded  batteaux,  and  its  eaft- 
ern    branch  affords   navigation  almofl:  to  its  fource. 

Great  Sandy  River  is  about  fixty  yards  wide,  and 
aavigable  fixty  miles  for  loaded  batteaux. 


(     '5     ) 

Guiandot  is  about  the  width  of  the  river  lafl  mention- 
^dy  but  is  more  rapid.  It  may  be  navigated  by  canoes 
60  miles. 

The  Great  Kayihazvay  is  a  river  of  confiderable  note 
for  the  fertility  of  its  lands,  and  fiil!  more,  as  leading 
towards  the  head  waters  of  James  river-  Neverthelefs, 
it  is  doubiful  whether  its  great  and  numerous  rapids  will 
admit  a  navigation,  but  at  an  expenceto  which  it  will 
require  ages  to  render  its  inhabitants  Cs'ual.  The  great 
obftacles  begin  at  what  are  called  the  Great  Falls,  90 
mile?  above  the  mouth,  below  which  are  only  five  or 
fix  rapids,  and  thefe  pafi'able,  with  fome  diflicultyj 
even  at  low  water.  From  the  falls  to  the  mouth  of 
Greenbfiar  is  100  miles,  and  thence  to  the  lea^d  mines 
1  20.     It  is  280  yards  wide  at  its  mou'h. 

Hockbocking  is  80  yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  and  yields 
navigation  for  loaded  batteaux  to  the  Preffplace,  60 
miles  above  its  mouth. 

The  Little  Kanbaway  is  150  yards  wide  at  the  mouth. 
It  yields  a  navigation  of  10  miles  only.  Perhaps  its 
northern  branch,  called  Junius's  creek,  which  inter- 
locks with  the  wertern  of  iVIonongahela,  may  one  day 
admit  a  fnorter  paffage  from  the  latter  into  the  Ohio. 

The  Mujkingum  is  280  yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  and 
"200  yards  at  the  lower  Indian  towns,  150  miles  upwards. 
It  is  navigable  for  fmall  batteaux  to  within  one  mile  of 
a  navigable  part  of  Cayahoga  river,  which  runs  into 
Lake  Erie. 

At  Fort  Pitt  the  river  Ohio  lofes  its  name,  branch- 
ing into  the  Monongahela  and  Alleghaney. 

The  Monongahela  is  400  yards  wide  at  its  mouth. — 
From  thence  is  12  or  15  miles  to  the  mouth  of  Yoho- 
ganey,  where  it  is  300  yards  wide.  Thence  to  Red- 
ilone  by  water  is  50  miles,  by  land  30.  Then  to  the 
mouth  of  Cheat  river  by  water  40  miles,  by  land  28, 
the  width  coutinuing  at  300  yards,  and  the  navigation 
good  for  boats.  Thence  the  width  is  about  200  yards 
to  the  weftern  fork,  50  miles  higher,  and  the  naviga- 
tion frequently  interrupted  by  rapids,  which  however 
with  a  fwell  of  two  or  three  feet  become  very  pafTable 
ior  boats.  It  then  admits  light  boats,  except  in  dry 
l^afoRS,  ^5  miks  further  to  the  head  of  Tygart's  valley. 


(     i6     ) 

prefcnting  only  fome  fmall  lapids  and  falls  of  one  or 
two  feet  perpendicular,  and  leflening  in  its  width  to 
20  yards.  The  Wejlern  fork  is  navigable  in  the  winter 
JO  or  15  miles  towards  the  northern  of  the  Little  Kan- 
haway,  and  will  admit  a  good  waggon  road  to  it, — 
The  Tobo^aney  is  the  principal  branch  of  this  river. — 
It  paifes  through  the  Laurel  mountain,  about  30  miles 
from  its  mouth  ;  is  fo  far  from  500  to  1  50  yards  wide, 
and  the  navigation  much  obftrufted  in  dry  weather  by 
rapids  and  fhoals.  In  its  patfage  through  the  moun- 
tain it  makes  very  great  falls,  admitting  no  navigation 
for  10  miles  to  the  Turkey  Foot .  Thence  to  the  Great 
Crofiing,  about  20  miles,  it  is  again  navigable,  except 
in  dry  feafons,  and  at  this  place  is  200  yards  wide. — 
The  fources  of  this  river  are  divided  from  thofe  of  the 
Patowmac  by  the  iUleghaney  mountain.  From  the 
falls,  where  it  interfedls  the  Laurel  mountain,  to  Fort 
Cumberland,  the  head  of  the  navigation  on  the  Patow- 
mac, is  40  miles  of  very  mountainous  road.  Wills's 
creek,  at  the  mouth  of  which  was  Fort  Cumberland, 
is  3g  or  40  yards  wide,  but  affords  no  navigation  as 
yet.  Cheat  river,  another  confiderable  branch  of  the 
Monongahela,  is  200  yards  wide  at  its  mouth,  and 
100  yanls  at  the  Dunkards*  fettlement,  50  miles  higher. 
\i  is  navigable  for  boats,  except  in  dry  feafons.  The 
boundary  between  Virginia  and  Pennfylvania  croifes  it 
about  3  or  4  miles  above  its  mouth. 

The  Alleghamy  river,  with  a  flight  fwell,  affords 
navigation  for  light  batteaux  to  Venango,  at  the  mouth 
cf  French  creek,  where  it  is  200  yards  wide  ;  and  it  is 
pradlifed  even  to  Le  BcEuf,  from  whence  there  is  a 
portage  of  1 5  miles  to  Prefque  Ifle  on  Lake  Lrie. 

The  country  watered  by  the  Miflifippi  and  its  caftcrn 
branches,  conftitutes  five-eights  of  the  United  States, 
two  of  which  five-eighths  are  occupied  by  the  Ohio  and 
its  v/aters ;  the  refiduary  flreams  which  run  into  the 
Gulph  of  Mexico,  the  Atlantic,  and  the  St.  Laurenc^ 
water  the  remaining  three  eighths. 

Before  we  cult  the  fubjecl  of  the  weflern  waters,  we 
will  take  a  viev/  of  their  principal  connexions  with  the 
Atlantic.  Thefe  are  three;  the  Hudfon's  river,  the 
yotuwmac,  and  the  MiiriHrpi  itfelf,    Down  the  \'ik 


(      17     ) 

will  pafs  all  heavy  commodities.     But  the  navigation 
through  the  Gu!ph    oF  Mexico  is  fo  dangerous,  and 
that  up  the  Miililippi    fo  diflicuk  and    tedious,  that   it 
is  thought  probable  that  l',uropean    merchandize    will 
not  return  through  that  channel.     It  is  mofl  likely  that 
Hour,  timber,  and  other  heavy  articles  will  be  floated 
on  rafts,  which  will  themfelves  be  an  article  for  fale  as 
well  as  their  loa-ding,  the  navigators  returning  by  land 
or  in  light  batteaux.     There  will  therefore  be  a  com- 
petition between  the  Hudfon  and  Potowmac  rivers  for 
the  refidue  of  the  commerce  of  all  the  country  wefl- 
ward  of  Lake  Erie,  on  the   waters  of  the   lakes,  of 
the  Ohio,  and  upper  parts    of  the  MilTifippi.     To  go 
to  New-York,  that  part  of  the  trade  which  comes  from 
the  lakes  or  their  waters  muft  firft  be  brought  in  Lake 
Erie.     Between  Lake   Superior    and  its    waters    and 
Huron  are  the  rapids  of  St.   Marv,  which  will  permit 
boats  to   pafs,  but  not  larger  veflels.     Lakes    Huron 
and  Michigan  afford  communication  with  Lake  Lrie 
by  veffels  of  8   feet   draft.     That  part  of  the  trade 
which  comes  from  the  waters  of  the  Miflinpi  muft  pafs 
from  them  through  fome  portage  into  the  waters  of  the 
lakes.     The  portage  from  the  Illinois  river  into  a  water 
of  Michigan  is  of  one  mile  only.     From  the   Wabafh, 
Miami,  ]^Iufl^ingum,   or  Alleghaney,  are  portages  into 
the  waters  of  Lake  Erie,  of  from  one  to  15   miles.—- 
When  the  commodities  are  brought   into,  and  have 
praffed  through  Lake  Erie,  there  is  between   that   and 
Ontario  an  interruption  by  the  falls  of  Niagara,  where 
the  portage  is  of  8  miles;  and  between  Ontario  and 
the  Hudfon's  river  are  portages  at  the  falls  of  Ononda- 
go,  a  little  above  Ofwego,  of  a  quarter  of  a   mile  ; 
from  Wood  creek  to  the  Mohawks  river  two  miles  ;  at 
the  little  falls  of  the  Mohawks  river  half  a  mile,  and 
from  Schene£lady   to   Albany  16  miles.     Befides  the 
increafe  of  expencc  occafioned  by  frequent  change  of 
carriage,  there  is  an  increafed  rifk  of  pillage  produced 
by  committing  merchandize  to  a  greater  number  of 
hands  fuccedively.     The  Patowmac  offers  itfelf  under 
the  following   circumftances.     For  the  trade   of  the 
lakes  and  their  waters  weft:ward  of  Lake  Erie,  when  it 
fliall  have  entered  that  lake,  it  muft  coaft   along  its 


(    i8     ) 

fouthern  (bore,  on  account  of  the  number  and  excel- 
lence  of  its  harbors;  the  northern,  though  fhorteft^ 
having  few  harbors,  and  thefe  unfafe.  HaVing  r each- 
edCayahoga,  to  proceed  on  to  Nevv'-York  it  will  have 
82;  miles  and  five' portages;  whereas  it  is  but  425 
miles  to  Alexandria,  its  emporium  on  the  Potowmac, 
ir  it  turns  into  the  Cayahoga,  and  paffes  through  that. 
Big  beaver,  Ohio,  Yohoganey,  ^or  Monongahela  and 
Cheat)  and  Potowmac,  and  there  are  but  two  portages  ; 
(he  fird  of  which  between  Cayahoga  and  Beaver  may 
be  removed  by  uniting  the  fources  of  thefe  waters, 
Vv'hieh  are  lakes  in  the  neighborhood  of  each  other, 
and  i  ^.  a  champaign  country  ;  (.he  other  from  the  water? 
tif  Ohio  to  Potowmac  will  be  from-  15  to  40  miles, 
according  to  the  trouble  which  fhall  be  taken  to  ap- 
proach the  two  navigations.  For  the  trade  of  the 
i)hio,  or  that  which  fhall  come  into  it  from  its  own 
waters  or  the  Miffifipi,  it  is  nearer  through  the  Potow- 
mac to  Alexandria  than  to  New- York  by  ^'So  miles^ 
r.ad  it  is  interrunted  by  one  portage  only.  There  is 
another  circumftance  of  diiference  too.  The  lakes 
ihemfelves  never  freeze,  bur  the  communications  be- 
tv^een  them  freeze,  and  the  Hudfon's  river  is  itfelf  fhut 
yp by  the  ice  three  months  in  the  year;  vrhereas  the 
channel  to  the  Chefapeak  leads  diredly  into  a  warm 
climate.  The  fouthern  parts  of  it  very  rarely  freeze' 
at  all,  and  whenever  the  northern  do,  it  is  fo  near  the 
fources  of  the  rivers,  that  the  frequent  fioods  to  which 
they  are  there  liable,  break  up  the  ice  immediately,  lo 
that  veiTels  may  pafe  through  the  whole  winter,  fub- 
ied  only  to  accidental  and  fhort  delays.  Add  to  all 
this,  that  in  cafe  of  a  war  with  our  neighbors,  the  ■ 
Anglo-Americans  or  the  Indians,  the  route  to  New- 
York  becomes  a  frontier  through  almoft  its  whole 
length,  and  all  commerce  through  it  ceafes  from  that 
moment.  But  the  channel  to  New-York  is  already . 
known  to  pra5:ice ;  whereas  the  upper  waters  of  the 
Ohio  and  the  Patovirnac,  and  the  great  falls  of  the 
latter,  are  \^tto  be  cleared  of  their  fixed  obHruftions.  . 

(A.) 


(     19     ) 

^U  E  R  r    III. 

A  NOTICE   ofik  k:/2  fea-ports  of  the  Jlat:,  --?"  /  '-.■ 
h'tg  are  the  vejfels  ihcy  can  receive  ? 

Havinc;  no  ports   but    our  rivers  and    creek.^,  this 
^er^  has  been  anfwered  under  the  preceeding  one. 


^U  E  R  r     IV. 

A  NOTICE  of  Us  Mountains  ? 

For  the  particular  geography  of  our  mountains  I 
muft  refer  to  Fry  and  Jefferfon*s>  map  of  Virginia;   and 
to  E^<ans\  analyfis  of  his  map  of  America,  for  a  more 
philofophical  view  of  them  than  is  to  be  found  in  any 
other  work.     It  is  worthy  notice,  that  our  mountain; 
^  are  not  fohtary  and  fcattered  confufcdly  over  the  face 
of  the  country  ;  but  that  they  commerkce  at  about  t  -q 
miles  from  the  fea-coa(t,  are  difpofed  in  ridges  one  be- 
hind another,  running  nearly  parallel  with  the  fea-coafl, 
though  rather  approaching  it  as  they  advance  north- 
eaftwardly.     To  the  fouth-weil,  as  the  tra£l  of  coun- 
try between  the   fea-coaft  and  the   Mifiifipi    becomes 
narrower,  the  mountains  converge  into  a  fingle  ridge, 
■which,  as  it   approaches  the   Gulph   of  Mexico,  fub- 
Cdes  into  plain  country,  and  gives  rife  to  fome  of  the 
waters  of  that  gulph,  and  particularly  to  a  river  called 
the  Apalachicola,  probably  from   the    Apalachiej,  an. 
Indian  nation  formerly  rcfiding  on  it.  Hence  the  moun- 
tains giving  rife  to  that  river,  and  feen  from  its  various 
parts,  were   called  the  Apalachian    mountains,  being 
in  fact  the  end  or  termination  only   of  the  great  ridges 
pafling  through  the  continent.     European  geographers 
however  extended  the  name  northwardly  as   far  as  the 
mountains  extended ;  fome  giving  it,  after  their  fepa- 
ration  into  different  ridges,  to  the  Blue  ridge,  others 
to  the  North  mountain,  others  to  the  Alleghaney,  others 


(      20      ) 

to  the  Laurel  ridge,  as  may  be  feen  in  their  different 
maps.     Bur  the  fact   I    believe  is,  that  none  of  thefe 
ridges  were  ever  known  by  that  name  to  the  inhabit- 
ants, either  native  or  emigrant,  but  as  rhey  faw  them 
fo  called   in  European  maps.     In  the  lame   dircdion 
generally  are  the  veins  of  iime-ftone,  coal,  and  other 
minerals  hitherto  difcovered  :  and  fo  range  the  falls  of 
our  great  rivers.     Bur  the  courfes  of  the  great  rivers 
are  at  right  angles  with  thefe.     James  and  Patowmac 
penetrate  though  all  the  ridges  of  mountams  eaftward 
of  the  Alleghaney;  that  is  broken  by  no  waSer  courfe. 
It  is  in  facl:  the  fpine  of  the   country  between  the  At- 
lantic on  one  fide,  and  the  MifTifipi  and  St.  Laurence 
on  the  other.     1'he  palTage  of  the  Patowmac  through 
the  Blue  ridge  is  perhaps  one  of  the  moft  flupendous 
fcenes  in  nature.     You  (land  on  a  very  high  point  of 
land.     On  your  right  comes  up  the  Shenandoah,  hav- 
ing ranged  along  the  foot  of  the  mountain  an  hundred 
miles  to  feek  a  vent.     On  your  left  approaches  the  Pa- 
towmac, in  queft  of  a  paflage  alfo.     In  the  moment  of 
their  jundion  they  rufh  together  againft  the  mountain, 
rend  it  afunder,  and  pafs   off  to  the   fea.     The    firft 
glance  of  this  fcene  hurries  our  fenfes  into  the  opinion, 
that  this  earth  has  been  created  in  time,  that  the  moun* 
tains  were  formed  firft,  that   the  rivers  began  to  flow 
afterwards,  that  in  this  place   particularly   they  have- 
been  dammed  up  by  the  Blue  ridge  of  mountains,  and 
have  formed  an  ocean  which  filled  the  whole  valley; 
that  continuing  to  rife  they  have  at  length  broken  over 
at  this  fpot,  and  have  torn  the  mountain    down  from 
its  fummit  to  its  bafe.     The  piles  of  rock  on  each  hand, 
but  particularly  on  the  Shenandoah,  the  evident  marks 
of  their  difrupture  and  avulfion  from  their  beds  by  the 
moft  powerful  agents  of  nature,  corroborate    the  im- 
preflion.     But  the   diftant   finilhing  which   nature  has 
given  to  the  pi6lurc,  is  of  a  very  different  charader. — 
It  is  a  true  contrail:  to  the  fore-ground.     It  is  as  placid 
and  delightful,  as  that  is  wild  and   tremendous.     For 
the  mountain  being  cloven  afunder,  fhc  prefents  to  your 
eye,  through  the  cleft,  a  fmall  catch  of  fmooth  blue 
liorizon,  at  an  infinite  diftance  in  the  plain  country, 
inviting  you,  ns  it   were,  from  the  riot   and  tumult 


(  21  ) 

roaring  around,  to  pafs  through  the  breach  and  parti- 
cipate of  the  calm  below.  Here  the  eye  ultimately 
compofes  itfelf ;  and  that  uay  too  the  road  happens 
adually  to  lead.  You  crofs  the  Pctowmac  above  the 
junction,  pafs  along  its  fide  through  the  bals  of  the 
mountain  for  three  miles,  its  terrible  precipices  hang- 
ing in  fragments  over  you,  and  within  about  20  miles 
reach  Fredericktown,  and  the  fine  country  round  that. 
This  fcene  is  worth  a  voyage  acrofs  the  Atlantic.  Yet 
here,  as  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Natural  Bridge, - 
are  people  who  have  pafled  their  lives  within  half  a 
dozen  miles,  and  have  never  been  to  furvey  thefe  mo- 
numents of  a  war  between  rivers  and  mountains, 
which  muft  have  fhaken  the  earth  itfelf  to  its  centre. 

(B.) 

The  height  of  our  mountains  has  not  yet  been  efti- 
mated  with  any  degree  of  exa£tneftj.  The  Alleghaney 
being  the  great  ridge  which  divides  the  waters  of  the 
Atlantic  from  thofe  of  the  Miffifipi,  its  fummit  is 
doubtlefs  more  elevated  above  the  ocean  than  that  of 
any  other  mountain.  But  its  relative  height,  compar- 
ed with  the  bafe  on  which  it  (lands,  is  not  fo  great  as 
that  of  fome  others,  the  country  rifmg  behind  the  fuc- 
cefiive  ridges  like  the  fteps  of  Ifairs.  The  mountains 
of  the  Blue  ridge,  and  of  thefe  the  Peaks  of  Otter, 
are  thought  to  be  of  a  greater  height,  meafured  from 
their  bafe,  than  any  others  in  our  country,  and  per- 
haps in  North  America.  From  data,  which  may 
found  a  tolerable  conjedure,  we  fuppofe  the  higheft 
peak  to  be  about  4000  feet  perpendicular,  which  is 
not  a  fifth  part  of  the  height  of  the  mountains  of  South 
America,  nor  one  third  of  the  height  which  would 
be  neceffary  in  our  latitude  to  preferve  ice  in  the  open 
air  unmelted  through  the  year.  The  ridge  of  moun- 
tains next  beyond  the  Blue  ridge,  called  by  us  the 
North  mountain,  is  of  the  greatefl:  extent ;  for  which 
reafon  they  were  named  by .  the  Indians  the  Endlels 
mountains. 

A  fubftancc,  fuppofed  to  be  Pumice,  found  floating 
on  the  Miflifipi,  has  induced  a  conjecture,  that  there 
is  a  volcano  on  fome  of  its  waters ;  and  as  thefe  are. 

D 


(      ^2      ) 

iTfioftly  known  to  their  fources,  except  the  Miflburi, 
our  expeftations  of  verifying  the  conjefture  would  of 
courfe  be  led  to  the  mountains  which  divide  the  waters 
of  the  Mexican  Gulf  from  thofe  of  the  South  Sea; 
but  no  volcano  having  ever  yet  been  known  at  fuch  a 
diftance  from  the  fea,  we  muft  rather  fuppofe  that  this 
floating  fubftance  has  been  erroneoufly  deemed  Pu- 
mice. . 


^u  E  R  r   V. 

Its  Cafcades  and  Caverns  t 

The  only  remarkable  Cafcade  in  this  country,  U 
that  of  the  Falling  Spring  in  Augufla.  It  is  a  water 
ot  James's  river,  where  it  is  called  Jackfon's  river,  rif- 
ing  in  the  warm  fpring  mountains,  about  twenty  miles 
iouth  weft  of  the  warm  fpring.  and  flowing  into  that 
valley.  About  three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  itfource, 
it  falls  over  a  rock  200  feet  into  the  valley  below.  The 
Iheet  of  water  is  broken  in  its  breadth  by  the  rock,  in 
two  or  three  places,  but  not  at  all  in  its  height.  Be- 
tween the  fheet  and  the  rock,  at  the  bottom,  you  may 
Walk  acrofs  dry.  1  his  catarad  will  bear  no  compari* 
fon  with  that  of  Niagara,  as  to  the  quantity  of  water 
compofing  it ;  the  fheet  being  only  12  or  15  feet  wide 
above,  and  fomewhat  mOre  fpread  below ;  but  it  is  half 
as  high  again,  the  latter  being  only  156  feet,  accord- 
ing to  the  menfuration  made  by  order  of  M.  Vaudreuil,: 
governor  of  Canada,  and  130  according  to  a  more  re- 
cent  account. 

In  the  lime-ftone  country,  there  are  many  caverns 
ot  very  confiderable  extent.  The  moft  noted  is 
called  Madilon's  Cave,  and  is  on  the  north  fide 
of  the  Blue  ridge,  near  the  interfedlion  of  the 
Rockinj^ham  and  Auguila  line  with  the  fouth  fork 
of  the  fouthern  river  of  Shenandoah.  It  is  in  a  hill 
of  about  200  feet  perpendicular  height,  the  afccnt  of 
which,onone  fide,  isloftecp,  that  you  may  pitch  a  bif- 


An  eyi  draught  of  Ma* 
diJon*s  cavCy  on  ajcale 
of  50  ieei  to  the  inch. 
The  arrows  Jhew 
where  it  defcends  or 
qfcends* 


(     ^3     ) 

cult  from  Its  fummit  into  the  river  which  wafhes  its 
bafe.  The  entrance  of  the  cave  is,  in  this  fide,  about 
two  thirds  of  the  way  up.  It  extends  into  the  earth 
about  300  feet,  branching  into  fubordinate  caverns, 
fometimes  afcending  a  little^  but  more  generally  de- 
fcending,  and  at  length  terminates,  in  two  different 
places,  at  bafons  of  water  of  unknown  extent,  and 
which  Ifhould  judge  to  be  nearly  on  a  level  with  the 
water  of  the  river  ;  however,  I  do  not  think  they  are 
formed  by  refluent  water  from  that,  becaufe  they  arc 
nev^er  tuibid  ;  becaufe  they  do  not  rife  and  fall  in  cor- 
refpendence  v.'ith  that  in  limes  of  flood,  or  of  drought ; 
and  becaufe  the  water  is  always  cool.  It  is  probably 
one  of  the  many  refervoirs  with  which  the  interior 
parts  of  the  earth  arefuppofed  to  abound,  and  which 
yield  fupplies  to  the  fountains  of  water,  diflinguiihed 
from  others  only  by  its  being  acceffible.  The  vault  of 
this  cave  is  of  folid  lime-itone,  from  20  to  40  or  c^o 
feet  liigh,  through  which  water  is  continually  perco- 
lating. This,  trickling  down  the  fides  of  the  cave, 
has  incruded  them  over  in  the  form  of  elegant  drape- 
ry; and  dripping  from  the  top  of  the  vault  generates 
on  that,  and  on  the  bafe  below,  ftalactitees  of  a  coni- 
cal form,  fome  of  which  have  met,  and  formed  mafTive 
columns. 

Another  of  thefe  caves  is  near  tao.  North  mountain,, 
in  the  county  of  Frederic,  on  the  lands  of  Mr.  Zane. 
The  entrance  into  this  is  on  the  top  of  an  extenfive 
ridge.  You  defcend  30  or  40  feet,  as  into  a  well,  from 
whence  the  cave  then  extends,  nearly  horizoRtally, 
400  feet  into  the  earth,  preferving  a  breadth  of  from 
10  to  50  feet,  and  a  height  of  from  5  to  12  feet.  Af^ 
ter  entering  this  cave  a  few  feet,  the  mercury,  which 
in  the  open  air  v/as  at  50°.  rofe  to  570.  of  Farenheit*s 
thermometer,  anfwering  to  11°.  of  Reaumur's,  and 
it  continued  at  that  to  the  rtmotefl:  part  of  the  cave. 
The  uniform  temperature  of  the  cellars  of  the  obfer- 
vatory  of  Paris,  which  are  90  feet  deep,  and  of  all 
fnbterraneous  cavities  of  any  depth,  where  no  chymi- 
cal  agents  may  be  fuppofed  to  produce  a  fatftitious  heat, 
has  be  found  to  be  10.  of  Reaumur,  equal  1054.-^ 
of  Farenheit.     The   temperature  of  the  cave   abovC" 


(       24       ) 

mentioned  lb  nearly  correfponels  with  this,  that  the 
difference  may  be  afcribed  to  a  difference  of  inftru- 
ments. 

At  the  Panther  gap,  in  the  ridge  which  divides  the 
waters  of  the  Cow  and  the  Calf  pafture,  is  what  if; 
called  the  Blcnvhi^  cave.  It  is  in  the  fiJe  of  a  hill,  is 
of  about  lOo  feet  diameter,  and  emits  conftantly  a 
current  of  air,  of  fuch  force,  as  to  keep  the  weeds 
proflrate  to  the  dillance  of  twenty  yards  before  it.—- 
Thi<;  current  is  flrongeft  in  dry,  frofly  weather,  and 
in  long  fpells  of  rain  weakefl.  Regular  infpirations 
and  exfpirations  of  air,  by  caverns  and  filVures,  have 
been  probably  enough  accounted  for,  by  fuppofing 
them  combined  with  intermitting  fountains  ;  as  they 
mull  of  coarfe  inhale  air  while  their  refcrvoirs  are 
emptying  themfelves,  and  again  emit  it  while  they  are 
filling.  But  a  conltant  ifl'ue  of  air,  only  varying  in  its 
force  as  the  weather  is  drier  or  damper,  will  require  a 
new  hypothefis.  There  is  another  blowing  cave  in  the 
Cumberland  mountain,  about  a  mile  from  where  it 
croHes  the  Carolina  line.  All  we  know  of  this  is,  that 
it  is  not  conftant,  and  that  a  fountain  of  water  iifues 
frqm  it. 

The  Naturnl  Bridge,  the  mojl  fublime  of  nuture^s 
works,  though  not  comprehended  under  the  prefent 
head,  mull  not  be  pretermitted.  It  is  on  the  afcent  of 
a  hill,  which  feems  to  have  been  cloven  through  its 
length  by  fome  great  convulfion.  The  fiffure,  juft  at 
the  bridge,  is,  by  fome  admeafurements,  270  feet  deep, 
by  others  only  205.  It  Is  about  45  feet  wide  at  the 
bottom,  and  90  feet  at  the  top  ,  this  of  courfe  deter- 
mines the  length  of  the  bridge,  and  its  height  from 
the  water.  Its  breadth  in  the  middle,  is  about  60  feet, 
but  more  at  the  ends,  and  the  thicknefs  of  the  mafs, 
at  the  fumm.it  of  the  arch,  about  40  feet.  A  part  of 
this  thicknefs  is  conflituted  by  a  coat  of  earth,  which 
gives  growth  to  many  large  tre^s.  The  refiduc,  with 
the  hill  on  both  fides,  is  one  folid  rock  of  lime-done. 
The  arch  approaches  the  femi-elllptical  form;  but  the 
larger  axis  of  the  ellipfis,  which  would  be  the  cord  of 
the  arch,  is  many  times  longer  than  the  tranfverfe. — 
Though  the  fides  of  this  bridge  are  provided  in  fome 


(     25     ) 

parts  with  a  parapet  of  fixed  rocks,  yet  few  men  have 
refolution  to  walk,  to  them,  and  look  over  into  the  abyfs. 
You  involuntarily  fall  on  your  hands  and  fett^  creep 
to  the  parapet,  and  peep  over  it.  Looking  down  from 
this  height  about  a  minute,  gave  me  a  violent  head- 
ach.  If  the  view  from  the  top  be  painful  and  intole- 
rable, that  from  below  is  delightful  in  an  equal  extreme. 
It  is  impoffible  for  the  emcti<  ns  arifmg  from  the  fub- 
lime,  to  be  felt  beyond  what  they  are  here;  fo  beauti- 
ful an  arch,  fo  elevated,  fo  light,  and  fpringing  as  it 
were  up  to  heaven  !  the  rapture  of  the  fpcdator  is  real- 
ly indifcrib  able  !  The  fifTure  continuing  narrow,  deep, 
and  (Ireight,  for  a  confiderable  diftance  above  and 
below  the  bridge,  opens  a  fliort  but  very  pleafing  view 
of  the  North  mountain  on  one  fide,  and  Blue  ridge  on 
the  other,  at  the  diftance  each  of  them  of  about  fiv6 
miles.  This  bridge  is  in  the  county  of  Rockbridge, 
to  which  it  has  given  name,  and  affords  a  public  and 
commodious  pafifage  over  a  valley,  which  cannot  be 
crolfed  elfewhere  for  a  confiderable  diftance.  The 
ftream  palling  under  it  is  called  Cedar-creek.  It  is  a 
water  of  James*  river,  and  fufficient  in  the  drieft  fea- 
fons  to  turn  a  grift-mill,  though  its  fountain  is  not  more 
than  two  miles  above.* 

*  Don  Ulloa  mentions  a  break,  similar  to  this,  in  the  provinc« 
of  Angaraez,  in  South  America.  It  is  from  i6  to  22  feet  wide, 
III  feet  deep,  and  of  1.3  miles  continuance,  En^lilh  meafure.  Its 
breadth  at  top  is  not  fensibly  greater  that  at  bottom.  But  the  fol- 
lowing faft  is  remarkable,  and  will  furnifh  fome  liejht  for  conjedur- 
inj  the  probable  origin  of  our  natural  bridge.  '  Efla  caxa,  o  cauce 
etla  cortada  an  pena  viva  con  tanta  precision,  que  las  desigu^ldades 
del  un  1  ido  entrantes,  correfponden  a  las  del  otro  lado  falientes,. 
como  si  aqudla  altura  fe  hubiefe  abierto  exprefamente,  con  fus 
bueltas  y  tortuosidades,  para  darle  transito  a  los  aguas  por  entre  los 
dos  muralloncs  que  la  forman  ;  siendo  tal  fu  igualdad,  que  sillegafen 
a  juntnrfe  fe  endentarian  uno  con  otro  sin  dcxar  hueco."  Not. 
Amcr.  II.  §  10.  Don  Ulloa  inclines  to  the  opinion,  that  tliis  chan- 
nel has  been  cffeded  by  the  wearlug  of  the  water  which  runs  thro* 
it,  rather  than  that  the  mountain  (hould  have  been  broken  open  by 
any  convulsion  of  nature.  But  if  it  had  been  worn  by  the  runmntj 
of  Avater,  would  not  the  rocks  which  form  the  sides,  have  been 
worn  plane  ?  or  if,  meeting  in  fome  parts  with  veins  of  harder  ftone, 
the  water  had  left  prominences  on  the  one  side,  would  not  the  fame 
caufe  have  fometimes,  or  perhaps  generally,  occasioned  prominences 
on  the  other  iside  aUy  ?     Yet  Don  Ulloa  tells  us,  that  on  the  other 


(       2«       ) 

^U  E  R  Y    VI. 

J\  N  OTIC  E  of  the  mines  and  other  fubterrancous  riches , 
its  trees,  plants^  jrtuts,   Iffc  .       , 

1  knew  a  linglc  inftance  of  gold  found  in  this  (late. 
It  was  interfperled  in  Imall  Ipecks  through  a  lump  of 
ore,  of  about  lour  pour.-s  weight,  \vhich  yielded 
feventeen  penny  weight  of  gold,  of  extraordinary 
dutliliiy.  This  ore  was  found  on  the  north  fide  of 
Rappahanoc,  about  four  miles  btlow  the  falls.  I  never 
heard  of  any  other  indication  ot  gold  in  its  neighbor- 
hood, 

,  Oh  the  great  Kanhaway,  oppofite  to  the  mouth  of 
Cripple  creek,  and  aLout  twenty  five  miles  Irom  our 
fouthern  boundary,  in  the  county  of  Montgomery, 
are  mines  of  lead.  'J  he  metal  is  mixed,  fometimes 
with  earth,  and  fometimes  with  rock,  which  requires 
the  force  ot  gunpowder  to  open  it ;  and  is  accompa- 
nied with  a  portion  ot  filver,  too  fmall  to  be  worth 
feparation  undei  any  procefs  hitherto  attempted  there. 
The  proportion  yielded  is  from  50  to  Solb.  of  pure 
metal  trom  loolb.  of  wafhed  ore.  The  moil  common 
is  that  of  60  to  lOolb.  The  veins  are  at  fometimes 
moft  flattciing;  at  others  they  difappesr  fuddenly  and 
totally.  1  hey  enter  the  fide  of  the  hill,  and  proceed 
horizontally.  T  wo  of  them  are  wrought  at  prefent 
by  the  public,  the  bed  of  which  is  100  yards  under  the 
hill.  Thefe  would  employ  about  50  labourers  to  ad- 
vantage.    "\\'e  have  not,  however,  more  than  30  ge- 

side  there  are  always  correfponding  cavities,  and  that  tliefe  tally 
■wiih  the  prominences  fo  pcrt'cftly,  that,  were  the  t>ro  sides  to  come 
together,  they  wiuld  fit  in  ;ill  their  indentures,  without  leaving  any 
void.  I  think  that  this  does  hot  rcfemble  the  cITcft  of  running  wa- 
ter, but  looks  rather  as  if  the  two  sides  had  parted  afunder.  The 
sides  of  the  break,  over  which  is  the  natural  bridge  of  Virginia, 
consifting  of  a  veiny  rotk  which  yields  to  times,  tht  correfpondence 
between  the  falient  and  re-entering  inequalities,  if  it  exided  at  nil, 
has  now  difappcared.  This  break  has  the  advantage  of  the  one  def- 
cribed  by  Don  Uiloa  in  its  fined  cirLumftancc  ;  no  portion  in  that 
nftance  having  held  togetl'er,  during  the  separation  of  t!  t  fthrr 
parts,  fo  as  to  form  a  bridge  over  the  abyfs-' 


(      27       ) 

nerally,  and  thefe  cultivate  their  own  corfi.  They 
have  produced  60  tons  of  lead  in  the  year  ;  but  the  ge- 
neral quantity  is  from  10  to  25  tons.  The  prefent  fur- 
nace is  a  mile  from  the  ore  bank,  and  on  the  oppofite 
fide  of  the  river.  The  ore  is  firfl  waggoned  to  the 
river,  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  then  laden  on  board  of 
canoes,  and  carried  acrofs  the  river,  which  is  there 
about  200  yards  wide,  and  then  again  taken  into  wag- 
gons and  carried  to  the  furnace.  This  mode  was  ori- 
ginally adopted,  that  they  might  avail  themfelves  of  a 
good  fituation  on  a  creek,  for  a  pounding  mill :  but  it 
would  be  eafy  to  have  the  furnace  and  pounding  mill 
on  the  fame  fide  of  the  river,  which  would  yield  water, 
without  any  dam,  by  a  canal  of  about  half  a  mile  in 
length.  From  the  furnace  the  lead  is  tranfported  130 
miles  along  a  good  road,  leading  through  the  peaks  of 
Otter  to  Lynch's  ferry,  or  Winfton's,  on  James's  river, 
from  whence  it  is  carried  by  water  about  the  fame  dif- 
tance  to  Wefliham.  This  land  carriage  may  be  greatly 
ihortened,  by  delivering  the  lead  on  James's  river, 
above  the  Blue  ridge,  from  whence  a  ton  weight  has 
been  brought  on  two  canoes.  The  great  Kanhaway 
has  confiderable  falls  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  mines. 
About  feven  miles  below  there  are  falls,  of  three  or 
four  feet  perpendicular  each  ;  and  three  miles  above  is 
a  rapid  of  three  miles  continuance,  which  has  been 
compared  in  its  defcent  to  the  great  falls  of  James's 
river.  Yet  it  is  the  opinion,  that  they  may  be  laid  open 
for  ufeful  navigation,  fo  as  to  reduce  very  much  the 
portage  between  the  Kanhaway  and  James's  river. 

A  valuable  lead  mine  is  faid  to  have  been  lately  dif- 
covered  in  Cumberland,  below  the  mouth  of  Red  river. 
I'he  greateft,  however,  known  in  the  weftern  country, 
are  on  the  Miififipi,  extending  from  the  mouth  of 
Rock  river  159  miles  upwards.  Thefe  are  not  wrought, 
the  lead  ufed  in  that  country  being  from  the  banks  on 
the  Spanifh  fide  of  the  Miffifipi,  oppofite  to  Kalkaf- 
kia. 

A  mine  of  copper  was  once  opened  in  the  county  of 
Amherfli,  on  the  noith  fide  of  James's  river,  and  ano- 
ther in  the  oppofite  country,  on  the  fouth  fide.  How- 
ever, either  from  bad  management  or  the  poverty  of 


(       2S       ) 

llie  vtins,  they  were  difcontinued.  We  arc  told  of  a 
rich  mine  of  native  copper  on  the  Ouabache,  below 
the  upper  Wiaw. 

The  mines  of  iron  worked  atprefcnt  are  Callaway*?, 
Rofs's,  and  Bailendine's,  on  the  fouth  fide  of  James's 
river  ;  Old's  on  the  north  fide,  in  Albemarle  ;  Pdillcr's 
in  Augufta,  and  Zane's  in  Frederic.  Thefe  two  laft 
are  in  the  rally  between  the  Blue  ridge  and  North  moun- 
tain. Callaway's,  Rofs'?,  Miller's,  and  Zane's,  make 
about  150  tons  of  bar  iron  each,  in  the  ye.ir.  Rofs's 
makes  alfo  about  ,1600  tons  of  pig  iron  annually  ;  Bai- 
lendine's 1000;  Callaway's,  Miller's,  and  Zanc>, 
about  6co  each.  Befides  thefe,  a  forge  of  Mr.  Hun- 
ter's, at  Frederickll)urgh,  makes  about  300  tons  a 
year  of  bar  iron,  from  pigs  imported  from  Maryland  ; 
and  Taylor's  forge  on  Neapfco  of  Potowmac,  works 
in  the  fame  wa}^,  but  to  what  extent  I  am  not  informed. 
The  indications  of  iron  in  other  places  are  numerous, 
and  dilperfed  through  all  the  middle  country.  The 
touo-hnefs  of  the  caft  iron  of  Rofs's  and  Zane's  furnaces 
is  very  remarkable.  Pots  and  other  utenfils,  caft  thin- 
ner than  ufual,  of  this  iron,  may  be  fafely  thrown  into, 
or  cut  of  the  waggons  in  which  they  are  tranfported.— 
Sak-pans  made  of  the  fame,  and  no  longer  wanted  for 
that  purpofe,  cannot  be  broken  up,  in  order  to  be  melt- 
ed agam,  unlefs  previoufly  drilled  in  m.any  parts. 

In  the  weflern  country,  we  a-e  told  of  iron  mines  be- 
tween the  Muikingum  and  Ohio  :  of  others  on  Ken- 
tucky, between  the  Cumberland  and  Barren  rivers,  be- 
tween Cuniberland  and  Tennaifee,  on  Reedy  creek, 
near  the  Long  ifland,  and  on  Chelnut  creek,  a  branch 
of  the  Great  Kanhaway,  near  where  it  croiTes  the  Caro- 
lina line.  What  are  called  the  iron  banks,  on  the 
Miflifipi,  are  believed,  by  a  good  judge,  to  have  no 
iron  in  them.  In  general,  from  what  is  hitherto  known 
of  that  country,  it  feems  to  want  iron. 

Confiderable  quantifies  of  black  lead  are  taken  occa- 
fionally  forufe  from  Winterham,  in  the  county  of  Ame- 
lia. 1  am  not  able,  however,  to  give  a  particular  ftate 
of  the  mine.  There  is  no  work  eftabliQied  at  it ;  thofe 
who  want,  going  and  procuring  it  for  themfelves. 

E 


(      29      ) 

The  country  on  James's  river,  from  15  to  20  miles- 
above  Richmond,  and  for  feveral  miles  northward  and 
iouthward,  is  replete  with  mineral  coal  of  a  very  excellent 
quality.  Being  in  the  hands  of  many  proprietors,  pits  have 
been  opened,  and,  before  the  Interruption  of  our  com- 
merce, vi^ere  vi^orked  to  an  extent  equal  to  the  demand. 

In  the  vveftern  country  coal  is  known  to  be  in  fo  many 
places,  as  to  have  induced  an  opinion,  that  the  whole  traA 
between  the  Laurel  mountain,  Millifipi,  and  Ohio,  yields 
coal.  It  is  alfo  knov/n  in  many  places  on  the  north  fide  of 
the  Ohio.  The  coal  at  Pittfburg  is  of  very  fuperior  qua- 
lity. A  bed  of  it  at  that  place  has  been  a-fire  fmce  the 
year  1765,  Another  coai-hill  on  the  Pike-run  of  Monon- 
gahela  has  been  a-fire  ten  years,  yet  it  has  burnt  away 
about  ten  yards  only. 

I  have  known  one  inftance  of  an  emerald  found  in  this 
country.  Amethyfts  have  been  frequent,  and  cryltals  com- 
mon ;  yet  not  in  fuch  numbers  any  of  them  as  to  be  worth 
I'eeking. 

There  is  very  good  marble,  and  in  very  great  abundance, 
on  James's  river,  at  the  mouth  of  Rockfilfi. — The  fara- 
ples  1  have  feen,  were  fome  of  them  of  a  white  as  pure  as 
one  might  expect  to  find  on  the  furface  of  the  earth  :  bat 
inofb  of  them  were  variegated  with  red,  blue,  and  pur- 
ple. .  None  of  it  has  been  ever  worked.  It  torms  a  very 
large  precipice,  which  hangs  over  a  navigable  part  of  the 
river.     It  is  faid  there  is  marble  at  Kentucky. 

But  one  vein  of  lime-ftone  is  known  below  the  Blue- 
rjdge.  Its  firft  appearance,  in  our  country,  is  in  Prince 
William,  two  miles  below  the  Pignut  ridge  of  mountains; 
thence  it  palfes  on  nearly  parallel  with  that,  and  erodes 
the  Rivanna  about  five  miies  below  it,  where  it  is  called 
the  South-wefh  ridge.  It  then  croffcs  Hardware,  above  the  • 
mouth  of  Hudfon's  creek,  James's  river  at  the  mouth  of 
Rockfilh,  at  the  marble  quarry  before  fpoken  of,  probably 
runs  op  that  river  to  where  it  appears  again  at  Rofs's  iron- 
works, and  fo  pafles  off"  fouth-weftwardly  by  Flat  creek 
of  Otter  river.  It  is  never  more  than  one  hundred  yards 
wide.  From  the  Blue  ridge  wedwardly,  the  whole  coun- 
try feems  to  be  founded  on  a  rock  of  jime-ftone,  befides 
infinite  quantities  oft  the  furface,  bctti  ioofe  and  fixed..— ^ 


C    50   ) 

This  is  cut  into  beds,  which  range,  as  the  mcunlalns  and 
fea-coaft  do,  ficm  Ibuth-weft  to  north-eaft,  ihe  lamina 
of  each  bed  declining  tVom  the  horizon  towards  a  paral- 
Ithfni  wiih  the  axis  of  the  earth.  Being  llruck  with  this 
obfe  vat  on,  I  made,  with'a  quadrant,  a  great  number  of 
trials  on  the  ang'cs  of  their  declination,  and  found  them 
to  vary  fiom  22  to  60  ;  but  averaging  all  my  trials,  the 
rc'ult  was  within  one  third  of  a  degree  of  the  elevation  of 
the  po'e  or  latitude  of  the  place,  and  much  the  greatefl 
part  of  them  taken  feparately  were  little  difTerent  from 
that ;  by  which  it  appears,  that  thefe  lamina  are,  in  the  , 
main,  parallel  with  the  axis  of  the  earth.  In  fome  in- 
ilances,  indeed,  1  found  them  perpendicular,  and  even 
reclining  the  other  way  ;  but  thefe  were  extremely  rare, 
and  always  attended  with  figns  of  convulfions  or  other 
circumflances  of  fmgularity,  W'hich  admitted  a  poffibility 
of  removal  from  their  original  pofition.  Thefe  trials 
were  made  betv/ecn  IMadifon's  cave  and  the  Patowm.ac. 
We  hear  of  limc-flione  on  the  MifTifipi  and  Ohio,  and 
in  all  the  mountainous  country  between  the  eaftern  and 
wedern  waters,  not  on  the  mountains  themfelves,  but 
occupying  the  vallies  bctw^een  them. 

Near  the  eaftern  foot  of  the  North  mountain  are  im- 
menfe  bodies  of  ScbiJ},  contahiing  impreffions  of   fliells 
in  a  variety  of  forms.     I  have  received  petrified  fnelis  of 
very  diilerent  kinds  from   the   hrfl  fources  of  the  Ken- 
tuck)'',  which    bear  no    refemblance  to  any  I   have  ever 
feen  on  the  tide  waters.     It   is  faid   that  fnelis  are  found 
in  the    Andes,  in  South- America,  fifteen   thoufand   feet 
above  the  level    of  the  ocean,     'I'his   is  confidcrcd    by 
many,  both  of  the  learned  and  unlearned,  as  a  proof  of 
an  uuiverfal  deluge.     To  the  many  confiderations  oppof- 
ing  this  opinion,  the  following  may  be  added.     The  at- 
mofphere,  and  all  its  contents,  whether  of  water,  air, 
or  other  matters,  gravitate  to   the  earth  ;  that  is  to  fay, 
they  have  weight.     Experience  tells  us,  that  the  weight 
of  all  thefe  together  never  exceeds  that  of  a  column   of 
mercury  of  c;  i  inches  height,  which   is   equal  to  one  of 
rain  water  of  35  feet  high.     If  the  whole  contents  of  the 
atmo'.phere  then  were  water,  infliead  of  what  they  are,   it 
would  cover  the  globe  but  3^   feet  deep ;  but  as  thefe 
waters,  as  they  fell,  would  run  into  the  feas,  the  fuper* 


C     3'     ) 

ficlalmeafure  of  which  is  to  that  of  the  dry  parts  of  thb 
globe,  as  two  to  one,  the  feas  would  be  raifed  only  52  1-2 
feet  above  their  prefent  level,  and  of  courfe  would  over- 
flow the  lands  to  that  height  only.  In  Virginia  this  would 
be  a  very  fmall  proportion  even  of  the  champaign  coun- 
try, the  banks  of  our  tide-waters  being  frequently,  if 
not  generally  of  a  greater  height.  Deluges  beyond  this 
extent  then,  as  for  inftance,  to  the  North  mountain  or 
to  Kentucky,  feem  out  of  the  laws  of  nature.  But  with- 
in it  they  may  have  taken  place  to  a  greater  or  lefs  degree, 
,  in  proportion  to  the  combination  of  natural  caufes  which 
may  be  fuppofed  to  have  produced  them.  Hiftory  renders 
probable  fomeinflances  of  a  partial  deluge  in  the  country 
lying  round  the  Mediterranean  fea.  It  has  been  often*  fup- 
pofed, and  is  not  unlikely  that  that  fca  was  once  a  lake. 
While  fuch,  let  us  admit  an  extraordinary  collection  of 
the  waters  of  the  atmofphere  from  the  other  parts  of  the 
globe  to  have  been  difcharged  over  that  and  the  countries 
whofe  waiters  run  into  it.  Or  without  fuppofmg  it  a  lake, 
admit  fuch  an  extraordinary  colleftion  of  the  waters  of 
the  atmofphere,  and  an  influx  of  waters  from  the  Atlan- 
tic ocean,  forced  by  long  continued  wellern  winds.  The 
lake,  or  that  fea,  may  thus  have  been  fo  raifed  as  to  over- 
flow the  low  lands  adjacent  to  it,  as  thofe  of  Egypt  and 
Armenia,  which,  according  to  a  tradition  of  the  Egyptians 
and  Hebrews,  were  overflowed  about  2300  years  before, 
the  Chriftian  aera  ;  thofe  of  Attica,  faid  to  have  been 
overflowed  in  the  time  of  Ogyges,  about  five  hundred 
years  later;  and  thofe  of  Theffaly,  in  the  time  of  Deu- 
calion, ftill  300  years  poflerior.  But  fuch  deluges  as 
thefe  \^ill  not  account  for  the  Ihells  found  in  the  higher 
lands.  A  fecond  opin'on  has  been  entertained,  which  is,  . 
that,  in  times  anterior  to  the^  records  either  of  hiftory  or 
tradition,  the  bed  of  the  ocean,  the  principal  refidence  of 
the  (helled  tribe,  has,  by  (ome  great  convulfion  of  nature, 
been  heaved  to  the  heights  at  which  we  now  find  Ihells 
and  other  remains  of  marine  animals.  The  favorers  of 
this  opinion  do  well  to  fuppofe  the  great  events  on  which 
it  refts  to  have  taken  place  beyond  all  the  aeras  of  hiflory  ; 
for  within  thele,  certainly  none   fuch  are  to  be  found  ', 

*  2«  BiifTon  Epo(jues,  56, 


(     3^-     ) 

nnd  we  may, venture  to  fay  further,  that  no  facl  has  ta- 
ken place,  either  in  our  own  days,  or  in  the  thoufands  of 
years  recorded  in  hiftory,  which  proves  the  exKlenceof 
any  natural  apjents,  within  or  without  the  bowels  of  the 
earth,  of  force  fuflicient  to  heave,  to  the  height  of  15,000 
feet,  fuch  nialTcs  as  the  i\ndes.  The  difference  between 
the  pov/er  necclVary  to  produce  fuch  an  effect,  and  tint 
which  fliuilled  together  the  different  parts  of  Calabria  in 
our  days,  is  fo  imniencc,  that,  from  the  exiftencc  of  the 
latter  we  are  not  authorifed  to  infer  tiiatof  the  former. 

M.  de  Voltaire  has  fuggefted  a  third  folution  of  this 
diffcuhy  (Oucll.  encycl.  Coquilles,)  He  cites  an  inftance 
in  Touraiiic,  where,  in  the  fpucc  of  80  years,  a  particular 
fpot  of  earili  had  been  twicemetamorphofedinto  foft  ffone, 
which  had  become  hard  when  cmpi.oyed  in  building.  In 
this  ffone  fiielis  of  various  kinds  were  produced,  difcovera- 
ble  at  t'liil  only  with  themicrofcope,  but  afterwards  grow- 
ing with  the  ftone.  From  this  fact,  I  fuppofe,  he  would 
have  n<;  infer,  that,  beHJes  the  uiual  procels  for  generating 
fiiells  oy  the  eiaooracion  of  earth  and  water  in  animal  vel- 
fels,  nature  may  have  provided  an  equivalent  operation, 
by  palling  ti:t;  fame  marcjials  through  the  pores  of  calca- 
reous earth  and  Hones  :  as  we  fee  calcareous  drop-flones 
generating  every  day  by  the  percoi:"  ion  of  water  through 
lin^.e-ltone,  and  r.ew  marble  loin;ing  in  the  quarries  from 
which  ihe  old  lias  been  flien  out  ;  and  it  might  be  afi;- 
ed,  V.  iiether  it  is  nioic  tiiiacult  for  nature  to  fhoot  the  cal- 
careous juice  inio  the  lurm  o^  a  fhell,  than  other  juices  in- 
to the  forniG  of  cryitals,  plants,  animals,  according  to  the 
conhru6lion  of  iiie  veflels  through  which  they  pals  ? 
There  is  a  wonder  fomcv/here.  Is  it  grateff  on  this  branch 
of  the  dilemma  :  on  that  which  fuppofes  the  exiftence  of 
a  power,  of  v.hich  we  have  no  evidence  in  any  other  cafe; 
or  on  the  firfl,  which  requires  us  to  believe  the  creation 
of  a  body  of  water  and  its  fubfequent  annihilation.  The 
ellablifliment  of  the  inllance,  cited  by  M.  de  Voltaire,  of 
the  growth  of  ff.ells  unattached  to  animal  bodies,  would 
have  been  that  of  his  theory.  But  he  has  not  eftablifned 
it.  He  has  not  even  left  it  on  ground  fo  refpeftable  as  to 
have  rendered  it  an  object  of  enquiry  to  the  literati  of 
his  own  country.  Abandoning  this  fact,  therefore,  the 
three  hypothefes  are  equally  unfatisfadory  j  and  we  muH 


(     33     ) 

fee  contented  to  'acknowledge,  that  this  great  phenomenon 
js  as  yet  unfolved.  Ignorance  is  preferable  to  error  ;  and 
he  is  lefs  remote  from  the  truth  who  believes  nothing, 
than  he  who  beheves  what  is  wronc;. 

o 

There  is  great  abundance  (more  efpecially  when  you 
spproacii  the  mountains)  of  {lione,  white,  blue,  brown, 
^c.  fit  for  the  chiffel,  s-ood  mill-ftone,  fuch  alfo  as  (lands 
fhe  fire,  and  flate  Hone.  We  are  told  of  fiint,  fit  forgun- 
iiints,  on  the  Meherrin  in  Brunfwick,  on  the  Miflifipi  be- 
tween the  mouth  of  Ohio  and  KafivafKia,  and  on  others  of 
the  weftern  waters.  Ifinglafs  or  mica  is  in  feveral  places  ; 
Joadftone  alfo  ;  and  an  Aibeflos  of  a  ligneous  texture,  is 
fametimes  to  be  met  with. 

Marie  abounds  generally.  A  clay,  of  which  like  the 
Sturbridge  in  England,  bricks  are  made,  which  will  refift 
long  the  violent  aclion  of  fire,  has  been  found  on  Tucka- 
hoe  creek  of  James's  river,  and  no  doubt  w-iil  be  found  in 
other  places.  Chalk  is  faid  to  be  in  Botetourt  and  Bed- 
i"  rd.  In  the  latter  county  is  fome  earth  believed  to  be 
gypieous.    Ochres  are  found  in  various  parts. 

In  the  lime-flone  country  are  many  caves,  the  earthy 
floors  of  which  are  impregnated  with  nitre.  On  Rich 
creek,  a  branch  of  the  Great  Kanhaway,  about  60  miles 
beiovv  the  lead  mines,  is  a  very  large  one,  about  20  yards 
xvidej  and  entering  a  hill  a  quarter  or  half  a  mile.  The 
vault  is  of  rock,  from  9  to  15  or  -20  feet  above  the  floor, 
A  Mr.  Lynch,  who  gives  me  this  account,  undertook  to 
extrad  a  nitre.  Befides  a  coat  of  the  fait  which  had  form- 
ed on  the  vault  and  floor,  he  found  the  earth  highly  imprcg-  - 
nated  to  the  depth  of  feven  feet  in  fome  places,  and  gene- 
rally of  three,  every  builiel  yielding  on  an  average  three 
pounds  of  nitre.  Mr.  Lynch  having  made  about  looolb. 
of  the  fait  from  it,  configned  it  to  lome  others,  who  have  • 
fince  made  io,ocolb.  They  have  done  this  by  purfuing 
the  cave  into  the  hill,  never  trying  a  fecond  time  the  earth 
they  have  once  cxhaufled,  to  fee  how  far  or  foonit  receives 
another  impregnation.  At  leaft  fifty  of  thefe  caves  are 
worked  on  the  Greenbriar.  There  are  many  of  them  known 
on  Cumberland  river. 

The  country  weflward  of  the  Alleghany  abounds  with 
fprings  of  common  fiilt.  The  mofi:  remarkable  we  have 
heard    of    arc  at  Bullet's  hck,  the  Big  bcnes,  the  blue 


I 


(     34     ) 

lick.-,  and  on  the  North  fork  ot'  Holiton.  The  area  or 
Bullet's  lick,  is  of  many  acres.  Digging  the  earth  lo  the 
depth  of  three  feet,  the  water  begins  to  boil  up,  and  the 
deeper  you  go,  and  the  drier  the  weather,  the  ilrongcr  is 
the  brine.  A  thoufand  gallons  of  water  yield  from  a  bulhel 
to  a  buflicl  and  a  half  of  fair,  which  is  about  8olb.  of  wa- 
ter to  lib.  of  fait;  but  of  fea-water  251b.  yield  ilboffali. 
So  that  fea  water  is  more  than  three  times  as  llrong  as  that 
of  thefe  fprings.  A  fait  ipring  has  been  lately  diicovercd 
at  the  Turkey  foot  on  Yohogany,  by  which  river  it  is  over- 
flowed, except  at  very  low  water.  Its  merit  is  not  yet 
known.  Dunning's  lick  is  alfo  as  yet  untried,  but  it  is 
fuppofed  to  be  the  bed  on  this  fide  the  Ohio.  The  fain 
iprings  on  the  margin  of  the  Onandago  lake  arefaidto 
rive  a  faline  talte  to  the  waters  of  the  lake. 

There  are  feveral  medicmal  fprings,  fome  oi  which  are 
mdubitably  eiBcacious,  while  others  fecm  to  owe  their 
reputation  as  much  to  fancy  and  change  of  air  and  regi- 
ir.cn,  zz  to  their  real  virtues.  None  of  them  having  un- 
dergone a  chemical  analyfis  in  fkilful  hands,  nor  been  fo 
far  the  fubjscl  of  obfcrvation  as  to  have  produced  a  reduc- 
tion into  dalles  of  the  diforders  which  they  relieve,  it  is 
in  ray  power  to  give  little  more  than  an  enumeration  of 
them. 

The  mofl:  efficacious  of  thefe  are  two  fprings  In  Augufta, 
near  the  firil  fources  of  James's  River,  where  it  is  called 
Jackfon's  River.  They  rife  near  the  foot  of  the  ridge  of 
Mountains,  generally  called  the  Warm  Spring  Mountains, 
but  in  the  maps  Jackfon's  Mountains.  The  one  is  diftin- 
guilhedby  the  name  of  the  Warm  Spring,  and  the  other 
of  the  Hot  Spring.  The  Warm  Spring  iffues  with  a  very 
bold  flream,  fufficient  to  work  a  grift  mill,  and  to  kee^ 
the  waters  of  its  bafon,  which  is  30  feet  in  diameter,  at  the 
vital  warmth,  viz.  96°  of  Farenheit's  thermometer. — 
The  matter  with  which  thefe  waters  is  allied  is  very  vola- 
tile ;  its  fmell  indicates  it  to  be  fulphureous,  as  alfo  does 
the  circumilance  of  its  turning  filver  black.  Thty  relieve 
rheumatifms.  Other  complaints  alfo  of  very  different 
natures  have  been  removed  or  leffened  by  them.  It  rains 
here  four  or  five  days  in  every  week. 

The  Hot  Spring  is  about  fix  miles  from  the  Warm,  is 
much  faialler,  and  has  been  fo  hot  as  to  have  boiled  an 


(    3S    ) 

egg.  Some  believe  its  degree  of  heat  to  be  leffened.  It 
raifes  the  mercury  in  Farrenheit's  thermometer  to  112 
degrees,  which  '•'■^  lever  heat.  It  fometimes  reUeves  where 
the  Warm  Spring  fails.  A  fountain  of  common  water, 
iifuing  within  a  few  inches  of  its  margin,  gives  it  a  fingu- 
lar  appearance.  Comparing  the  temperature  of  thefe  with 
that  of  the  Hot  Springs  of  Kaii.fchatka,  of  which  Krach- 
ininnikov/  gives  an  account,  the  diilerence  is  very  great, 
the  latter  raifmg  the  mercury  to  200"  which  is  within  12'' 
of  boihng  water.  Thefe  l]:)rings  are  very  much  reforted 
to  in  fpite  of  a  total  want  of  accommodation  for  the  Tick. 
Their  Vv^aters  are  flrongefi;  in  the  hotted  months,  which 
occafions  their  being  vifitcd  in  July  and  Augufl  principal- 

The  fweet  fprlngs  are  in  the  county  of  Botetourt,  at  the 
eaftern  foot  of  the  Allegh  ny,  about  42  miles  from  the 
Warm  fprings.  They  are  itill  lefs  known.  Having  been 
found  to  relieve  cafes  in  which  the  others  had  been  inelTec-. 
tually  tried,  it  is  probable  their  compohtion  is  different. 
They  are  different  alfo  in  their  temperature,  being  as  cold 
as  common  water  :  which  is  not  mentioned,  however,  as 
a  proof  of  a  diftinft  impregnation.  This  is  among  the 
nrll  fources  of  James's  River. 

On  Potowmac  River,  in  Berkeley  county,  above  the 
North  mountain,  are  medicinal  fprings,  much  more  fre- 
quented than  thofeof  Augufla.  Their  powers,  however, 
are  lefs,  the  waters  Vv^eakly  mineralized,  and  fcarcely 
warm.  They  are  more  vifited  becaufe  fituated  in  a  fertile, 
plentiful  and  populous  country,  better  provided  with  ac- 
commodations, always  fa fe  from  the  Indians,  and  near.efl: 
to  the  more  populous  ftates. 

In  Louifa  county,  on  the  head  waters  of  the  South  An- 
na branch  of  York  river,  are  fprings  of  fome  medicinal 
virtue.  They  are  not  much  ufed  however.  There  is  a 
weak  chalybeate  at  Richmond  ;  and  many  others  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  country,  which  are  of  too  little  worth, 
or  too  little  note,  to  be  enumerated  after  thofe  before 
mentioned. 

We  are  told  of  a  fulphur  fpring  on  Howard's  creek  of 
Greenbriar,  and  another  at  BoonfboroUgh  on  Kentucky. 

In  the  low  grounds  of  the  Great  Kanhaway,  feven  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  Elk  river,  and  6y  above  that  of  the 


C    36    ) 

Kanhaway  IifeU,  is  a  holo  in  the  earth  oFihe  capacity  of 
']o  or  40  gallons,  from  which  ilfues  conllantly  a  bitumi- 
nous vapour,  in  fo  ilrong  a  current,  as  to  give  to  the 
land  about  its  orifice  the  motion  which  it  has  in  a  boiling 
fpring.  On  prcfenting  a  lighted  candle  or  torch  within 
18  inches  of  the  hole  it  flames  up  in  a  column  of  18 
inches  diameter,  and  four  or  five  feet  hei;^!ir,  which 
fometimes  burns  out  within  20  minutes,  and  at  other  times 
has  been  known  to  continue  three  days,  and  then  has 
been  (till  left  burning.  The  flame  is  unileady,  of  the 
denfity  of  that  of  burning  fpirits,  and  fmells  like  bunting 
pit-coal.  Water  fometimes  coUefts  in  the  bafon,  which 
is  remarkably  cold,  and  is  kept  in  ebullition  by  the  va- 
pour ifl'uing  through  it.  If  the  vapour  be  fired  in  that 
Ihue,  the  water  foon  becomes  fo  v/arm  that  the  hand 
cannot  bear  it,  and  evaporates  wholly  in  a  fliort  tmie. 
This,  with  the  circumjacent  lands  is  the  property  of  his 
excellency  general  Wafhington  and  of  general  Ltwis. 

There  is  a  fimilar  one  on  Sandy  river,  the  llame  of 
which  is  a  column  of  about  12  inches  diameter,  and 
three  feet  high.  General  Clarke,  who  informs  me 
of  if,  kindled  the  vapour,  ftaid  about  an  hour,  and  left  it 
burning. 

The  mention  of  uncommon  fprings  leads  me  to  that  of 
Syphon  fountains.  There  is  one  of  thefe  near  the  inter- 
fedion  of  the  lord  Fairfax's  boundary  with  the  North 
mountain,  not  far  from  Brock's  gap,  on  the  ftreamof 
which  is  a  griftmill,  which  grinds  two  bufliels  of  grain  at 
every  flood  of  the  fpring  :  another  near  the  Cowpafture 
river,  a  mile  and  a  halt  below  its  confluence  with  the 
BuU-pafture  river,  and  1 6  or  17  miles  from  theHot  fprings, 
which  intermits  once  in  every  twelve  hours  :  one  alfo 
near  the  mouth  of  the  North  Holfton. 

After  thefe  may  be  mentioned  the  Natural  Well^  on  the 
lands  of  a  Mr.  Lewis  in  Frederick  county.  It  is  fome- 
what  larger  than  a  common  well  :  the  water  rifes  in  it 
as  near  the  furface  of  the  eafth  as  in  the  neighbouring  ar- 
tificial wells,  and  is  of  a  depth  as  yet  unknown.  It  i-  faid 
there  is  a  current  in  it  tending  fenfibly  downwards.  If 
this  be  true,  it  probably  feeds  fome  fountain,  of  which  it 
is  the  natural  refervoir,  dift:inguiflied  from  others,  like 
that   of  Madifon's    cave,    by    being    acceffible.      It   is 

F 


C    37    ) 

nkd  with  a  bucket  and  windlafs  as  an  ordinary  well. 
A  complete  catalogue  of  the  trees,  plants,  fruits,  &c. 
is  probably  not  defired.  I  will  fketch  cut  thofe  which 
would  principally  attract  notice,  as  being  i .  Medicinal, 
a,.  Efculent,  3.  Ornamental,  or  4.  Ufeful  for  fabrication  : 
adding  the  Linncean  to  the  popular  names,  as  the  latter 
might  not  convey  precife  information  to  a  foreigner.  I 
fhall  confine  myfelf  too  to  native  plants. 

J.  Senna.     Caffia  liguftrina. 

Arfmart.     Polygonum  Sagittatum. 

Clivers,  or  gooie-grafs.     Galium  fpurium. 

Lobelia  of  feveral  fpecies. 

Palma  Chrifti.     Ricinus. 

(30  James -tov/n  weed.     Datura  Stramonium. 

Mallow.     Malva  rotundifolia. 

Syrian  mallow.     Hibifcus  mofchentos. 
Hibifcus  virginicus. 

Indian  mallow.     Sida  rhombifolia. 
Sida  abutilon. 

Virginia  Marfhmallow.  Napasa  hermaphrodlta 

Napsea  dioica. 

Indian  phyfic.  Spiria  trifohata. 

Euphorbia  Ipecacuanhce. 

Pleurify  root.     Afclepias  decumbens. 

Virginia  fnake  root,   ^riftolochia  ferpentarlz. 

Black  fnake-root.  Adssa  racemofa. 

Seneca  rattlefnake-root.     Polygala  Senega. 

Valerian.  Valeriana  locufta  radiata. 

Gentiana,  Saponaria,  Villola  &  Centaurium. 

Ginfeng.     Panax  quinqnefolium. 

Angelica.      Angelica  fylveflris. 

Callava.     Jatropha  urens. 

2.  Tuckahoe.  Lycoperdon  tuber. 

Jerufalem  artichoke.     Helianthus  tuberofus. 

Long  potatoes.     Convolvulas  batatas. 

Granadillas.  Maycocks.  Maracocks.  PaiTiflora  incarnata. 

Panic.  Panicum  of  many  fpecies. 

Indian  Millet.     Holcus  laxus. 
Holcus  flriofus. 

"Wild  oat.    Zizania  aquaticia. 

Wild  pea.     Dolichos  of  Clayton* 

Lupine.     Lupinus  perennis. 


C      -8     ) 

Wild  hop.  Ilnmulus  lupulus. 

WilJ  cherry.  Primus  Virginiana. 

Cherokee  plumb.    Prunus  fylveftris  frui^ul 
majori.  '. 

Wild  plumb.  Prunus  fylveflris  frudlu  mi-  r  Clayton, 
nori.  J 

Wild  crab-appk.   Pyrus  coronaria. 

Red  Mulberry.  Morus  rubra. 

Perfimmon.  Diofpyros  Virginiana. 

Sugar  maple.   Acer  faccharinum. 

Scaly  bark  hiccory.  Juglans  alba  cortice  fquamofo. 
Clayton. 

Common  hiccory.  Juglans  alba,  fructu  minore  ran- 
cido.     Clayton. 

Paccan,  or  Illinois  nut.  Not  defcribed  by  Linnarus, 
Millar,  or  Clayton.  Were  I  to  venture  to  defcribe 
this,  fpeaking  of  the  fruit  from  memory,  and  of  the 
leaf  from  plants  of  two  years  growth,  I  fhould  fpecify 
it  as  the  Juglans  alba,  foliolis  lanceolatis,  acuminatis, 
ferratis,  to  mentofis,  fructu  minore,  ovato,  compreflb, 
vix  infculpto,  dulci,  putamine  tenerrimo.  It  grows 
on  the  Illinois,  Wabafh,  Ohio,  and  MilTifipi.  It  is 
fpoken  of  by  Don  Ulloa  under  the  name  of  Pacanos, 
in  his  Noticias    Americanas.  Entret  6. 

Black  walnut.  Juglans  nigra. 

White  walnut.  Juglans  alba. 

Chefnut.  Fagus  callanea. 

Chinquapin.  Fagus  pumila. 

Hazlenut.   Corylus  aveltana. 

Grapes,  Vitis.  Various  kinds,  though  only  three  de- 
fcribed by  Clayton. 

Scarlet  Strawberries.     Fragaria  Virginiana  of  Millar. 

Whortleberries.  Vaccinium  uliginofum. 

Wild  goofeberries.   Ribes  groflularia. 

Cranberries.  Vaccinium  oxycocos. 

Black  rafpberries.  Rubus  occidentalis. 

Blackberries.   Rubus  fruticofus. 

Dewberries.     Rubus  cazfius. 

Cloudberries.     Rubus  Chamozmorus. 

3.  Plane-tree.     Flatanus  occidentalis. 

Poplar.    Liriodcndron  tulipiefra. 
Populus  heteropbylla. 


(     39     ) 

Black  Poplar.    Populus  nigra. 

Afpen.    Populus  trcmula. 

Linden,  or  Lime,    Telia  Americana. 

Red  flowering  Maple.     Acer  Rubrum. 

Hoife  chefnui,  or  Buck's  eye.    iEfculus  Pavia. 

Catalpa.     Bignonia  catalpa. 

Umbrella.    Magnolia  tripetala. 

Swamp  laurel.      Magnolia  glauca. 

Cucumber  tree.     Magnolia  acuminata. 

Portugal  bay.     Laurus  indica. 

Red  bay.      Laurus  borbonia. 

Dwarf-rofe  bay.    Rhododendron  maximum. 

Laurel  of  the  weftern  country.     Qu.  fpecies  ? 

Wild  Pimento.    Laurus  benzoin. 

Saflafras.     Laurus  faflafras. 

Locuft.     Robinia  pfeudo-acacla. 

Honey  Locuft.    Gleditfia.   i.   b 

Dogwood.    Cornus  florida. 

Fringe,  or  fnow-drop  tree.    Chionanthus  Virginica. 

Barberry.     Berberis  vulgaris. 

Redbud,  or  Judas  tree.    Cercis  Canadenfis. 

Hollv.     Ilex  aauafolium. 

Cockfpur  haM'thorn.   Cratsegus  coccinea. 

Spindle  tree.  EuonymusEurop^us. 

Evergreen  fpindle  tree.      Euonymus  Americanus. 

Itea  Virginica. 

Elder.  Sambucus  nigra. 

Papaw.     Annona  triloba. 

Candleberry  myrtle,    Myrica  cerifera. 

Dwarf  laurel.  Kalmia  ang-uftifolia    7      ,»  t  r         ., 

TT  ^    •    ^  Pc  V  c  called  Ivy  with  us. 

Kalmia  latirolia  3  -^ 

Ivy.     Hedera  quinquefolia. 

Trumpet  honeyfuckle.    Lonicera  femper  virens. 

Upright  honeyfuckle.     Azalea  nudiflora 

Yellow  Jafmine.    Bignonia  fempcrvirens 

Calycanthus  floridus 

American  aloe.    Agave  Virginica. 

Sumach.  Rhus.    Qu.  fpecies  ? 

Poke.    Phytolacca  decandra 

Long  mofs.    Tillandfia  Ufneoides 

4.  Reed.    Arundo  phragmatis 

Virginia  hemp.    Acnida  cannibina 


(     40     ) 

Fla.v.    Liiuim  Virgiuianum 

Black  or  pitch  pine.    Finns  tccda 

Wiiite  pine.     Pinus  flrobus 

Yellow  pine.     Pinus  Virginica 

Spruce  pine.    Pinus  ioliis  finr^ularibus.   Clayton. 

Hemlock  fpruce  fir.    Pinus  Canadcnfis. 

Arbor  vita.*.    Thuya  occidentalis. 

Juniper.    Juniperus  Virginica  (called  cedar  with  us) 

Cyprefs.    Cupreflfus  diflicha 

White  cedar.     Cuprefi'us  Thyoides 

Black  oak.    (^uercus  nigra 

White  oak.     Quercus  alba. 

Red  oak     Quercus  rubra. 

Willow  oak.    Quercus  phellos 

Chefnut  oak.    Quercus  prinus 

Blaek  Jack  oak.    Quercus  aquatica.   Clayton. 

Ground  oak.  Quercus  puniilla.    Clayton. 

Live  oak.    Quercus  Virginiana.  Millar* 

Black  birch      Betula  nigra. 

White  birch.    Betula  aiba. 

Beach.     Fagus  fylvatica. 

Afli.    Fraxiaus  Americana.  .; 

Fraxinus  Novae  Anglian.   Millar. 

Elm.     Ulmus  Americana 

Willow,      Salix.     Query  fpecles  ? 

Sweet  gum.     Liquidambar  fiiyraciflua. 

The  following  were  found  in  Virginia  when  firfl  vifited 
by  the  Englifli  ;  but  it  is  not  faid  whether  of  fpontaneous 
growth,  or  by  cultivation  only.  Mofl  probably  they 
were  natives  of  more  fouthern  climates,  and  handed  a- 
long  the  continent  from  one  nation  to  another  of  the 
favages. 

Tobacco.     Nicotiana. 

Maize.     Zea  mays. 

Round  potatoes.     Solanum  tuberofum. 

Pumpkins.     Cucurbita  pepo. 

Cymlings.   Cucurbita  verrucofa. 

Squaflies.   Cucurbita  melopepo. 

There  is  an  infinitude  of  other  plants  and  flowers,  for 
an  enumeration  and  fcientific  defcription  of  which  I  muft 
refer  to  the  Flora  Virginica  of  our  great  botanifl:.  Dr. 
Clayton,  publifhed   by  Gronovius  at  Leyden,   in  1762." 


C    41    ) 

This  nccurate  obferver  was  a  native  and  refident  of  this 
iiale,  paifed  a  long  life  in  exploring  and  defcribing  its  plants, 
and  is  fuppofed  to  have  enlarged  the  botanical  catalogue 
as  much  as  almoit  any  man  who  has  lived. 

Bcfides  thefe  plant'j,  which  are  native,  our  farms  pro- 
duce v/heat,  rye,  barley,  oats,  buck  wheat,  broom  corn, 
and  Indian  corn.  The  climates  fuits  rice  well  enough, 
wherever  the  lands  do.  Tobacco,  hemp,  flax,  and  cot- 
ton, are  flaple  commodities.  Indigo  yields  two  cuttings. 
The  filk-worm  is  a  native,  and  the  mulberry  proper  tor 
its  food  grov.'s  kindly. 

We  cultivate  alio  potatoes,  both  the  long  and  the 
round,  turnips,  carrots,  parfneps,  pumpkins,  and  ground 
liuts  (■■\rachis.)  Our  graffes  are  lucerne,  ft.  foin,  burnet, 
timothy,  ray,  and  orchard  grafs ;  red,  white,  and  yel- 
low clover  ;  green-fwerd,  blue  grafs  and  crab  grafs. 

The  gardens  yield  muflc-melons,  water-melons,  toma- 
tas,  okra,  pomegranates,  iigs,  and  the  efculent  plants 
of  Europe. 

The  orchards  produce,  apples,  pears,  cherries,  quinces, 
peaches,  nctlarines,  apricots,  almonds  and  plumbs. 

Our  cjuadrupeds  have  been  moflly  defcribed  by  Linnae- 
us and  Monfieur  de  BuQon.  Of  thefe  the  Mammoth,  or 
big  buffaloe,  as  called  by  the  Indians,  muft  certainly  have 
been  the  largeft.  Their  tradition  is,  that  he  was  carni- 
vorous, and  ftili  exifts  in  the  northern  parts  of  America.' 
A  delegation  of  warriors  from  the  Delaware  tribe  having 
xificcd  the  governor  of  Virginia,  during  the  Revolution, 
on  matters  of  bufmefs,  after  thefe  had  been  difcuffed  and 
fettled  in  council,  the  governor  afked  them  fome  queflions 
relative  to  their  country,  and  among  others,  what  they 
knew  or  had  heard  of  the  animal  whofe  bones  were  found- 
at  the  Saltlicks  on  the  Ohio.  Their  chief  fpeaker  im- 
Rjediately  put  himfelf  into  an  attitude  of  oratory,  and  with 
a  pomp  fuited  to  what  he  conceived  the  elevation  of  hi* 
fubjefl,  informed  him  that  it  was  a  tradition  handed 
down  from  their  fathers,  '  That  in  ancient  times  a  herd 
'  of  thefe  tremendous  animals  came  to  the  Big  bone  licks, 
^  and   began  an  univerfal  deftruction  of  the  bear,  deer, 

*  elks,  bulfaloes,  and  other  animals  which  had  been  cre- 
'  ated  for   the  ufe  of  the  Indians :  that  the   Great  Man 

*  above,  looking  down  and  feeing  this,  was  fo  enraged. 


C     4^^      ) 

"  that  lie  feized  his  lightning,  defceilcleu  on  t]\c  earth, 
'  feated  himfeUon  a  neighbouring  moiinrain,  on  a  rock, 
'  of  which  his  teat  and  the  print  of  his  feet  yre  ill!!  to  be 

*  feen,  and   liurled   his  bohs  among  thcni  till  ilic  wiioJe 

*  were  flaughtered,  except  the  big   bull,  who  preitiuii^g; 

*  his  forehead  to  the  (hafts,  Ihook  ihem  off  as  they  fell ; 

*  but  milling  one  at  length,  it  wounded  him  in   the  iuM'.  ; 

*  whereon  fpringing  round,  he  bounded  over  the  Ohio, 
'  over  the  Waba(l),  the  Illinois,  and  finally  over  the  grcnt 
'  lakes,  where  he  is  livinc"  at  this  dav.'  It  is  well  known 
that  on  the  Ohio,  and  many  parts  in  ^\merica  further 
north,  tuiks,  grinders,  and  Ikeletons  of  unparalleled 
magnitude,  are  found  in  great  numbers,  fome  lying  oa 
the  furface  of  the  earth,  and  fome  a  little  below  it.  A 
Mr.  Stanley,  taken  prifoner  by  the  Indians  near  the 
mouth  of  the  TenalTee,  relates,  that  after  being  trar.sfer- 
red  through  feveral  tribes,  from  one  to  another,  he  wa-. 
at  length  carried  over  the  mountains  weft  of  the  Millouri 
to  a  river  which  runs  weitwardly  :thatthefe  bones  abound- 
ed there  ;  and  that  the  natives  defcribed  to  him  the  animal 
to  which  they  belonged  as  ftiil  exifting  in  the  northern 
parts  of  their  country  ;  from  which  defcription  he  judged 
it  to  be  an  elephant.  Bones  of  the  fame  kind  have  beeii 
lately  found,  Ibme  feet  below  the  furface  of  the  earth,  iri 
lalines  opened  on  the  North  Hoi  (Ion,  a  branch  of  the  Te- 
naffee,  about  the  latitude  of  3'61°  north.  From  the  a'!'- 
counts  publifhed  in  Europe,  I  fuppofe  it  to  be  decided, 
that  thefe  are  of  the  fame  kind  with  thofe  found  in  Siberia. 
Inftances  are  mentioned  of  like  animal  remains  found  hi 
the  more  fouchern  climates  of  both  hemifpheres,  but  thev 
are  either  fo  loofely  mentioned  as  to  leave  a  doubt  of  the 
fact,  fo  inaccuately  defcribed  as  not  to  authorife  the  clsl- 
fmg  them  with  the  gieat  northern  bones,  or  fo  rare  a^ 
to  found  a  fufpicion  that  they  have  been  carried  thither  ^s 
curiofities  from  m.ore  northern  regions.  So  that  on  the 
whole  there  feem  to  be  no  certain  velliges  of  the  exiftencc 
of  this  animal  further  fouth  than  the  falines  laft  mention- 
ed. It  is  remarkable  that  the  tudcs  and  fkcletons  have 
been  afcribed  by  the  naturalifts  of  turope  to  the  elephant, 
while  the  grinders  have  been  given  to  the  hippopotamus, 
or  river  horfe.  Yet  it  is  acknowledged,  that  the  tuiks  and 
fkeletons  are  much  larger  than  thofe  of  the  elephant,  and 


(    43     ) 

the  grinders  many  times  greater  than  thofe  of  the  hippo- 
potamus, and  ellentialiy  different  in  form.  Wherever 
thefe  grinasrs  are  found,  there  alfo  we  find  the  tufls.s  and 
flceieton  ;  but  no  fl^eieton  of  the  hippopotamus  nor  grind- 
ers of  the  elephant.  It  will  not  be  faid  that  the  hippopo- 
tamus and  elephant  came  always  to  the  fame  fpot,  the 
former  to  depofit  his  grinders,  and  the  latter  his  tulks  and 
fkeieton.  For  what  became  of  the  parts  not  depofited 
there  ?  We  nuift  agree  then  that  thefe  remains  belong 
to  each  other,  that  they  are  of  one  and  the  fame  animal, 
that  this  was  not  a  hippopotamus,  becaufe  the  hippopo- 
tamus had  no  tufks  nor  fuch  a  frame,  and  becaufe  the 
grinders  diiTer  in  their  fize  as  well  as  in  the  number  and 
form  of  their  points.  That  it  was  not  an  elephant,  I  think 
afcertained  by  proofs  equally  decifive.  I  will  not  avail 
myfelf  of  the  authority  of  the  celebrated  *  anatomid,  who, 
from  an  examination  of  the  form  and  ftrufture  of  the 
tufks,  has  declared  they  were  efientially  different  from 
thofe  of  the  elephant;  becaufe  another  anatomifl  §  equal- 
ly celebrated,  has  declared,  on  a  like  examination,  that 
they  are  precifely  the  fame.  Between  two  fuch  authori- 
ties, I  v'ill  fuppofe  this  circumftance  equivocal.  But,  i. 
The  feeleton  of  the  mammoth  (for  fo  the  incognitum  has 
been  called)  befpeaks  an  animal  of  five  or  fix  times  the  cu- 
bit volume  of  the  elephant,  as  Monfieur  de  Buffbn  has 
admitted.  2.  The  grinders  are  five  times  as  large,  are 
fquare,  and  the  grinding  furface  ftudded  with  lour  or  five 
rov/s  of  blunt  points  ;  vrhereas  thofe  of  the  elephant  are 
broad  and  thin,  and  their  grinding  furface  flat.  3.  I 
have  never  heard  an  indance,  and  fuppofe  there  has  been 
none,  of  the  grinder  of  an  elephant  being  found  in  Ame- 
rica. 4.  From  the  knovv^n  temperature  and  conftitution 
of  the  elephant  he  could  never  have  exifted  in  thofe  regi- 
ons where  the  remains  of  the  mammoth  have  been  found. 
The  elephant  is  a  native  only  of  the  torrid  zone  and  its 
vicinities :  if,  with  the  afTiIhmce  of  warm  apartments  and 
warm  clothing,  he  has  been  preferved  in  life  in  the  tempe- 
rate 'climates  of  Europe,  It  has  ouly  been  for  a  fmall  por- 
tion of  what  would  have  been  his  natural  period,  and  no 
Inftance  of  his  multiplication  in  them  has  ever  been  known. 
But  no  bones  of  the  mammoth,  as  1  have  before  obferved, 
*  Himter,  §  D^ Aubeiitotu 


[     44     ] 

have  been  ever  found  further  fouth  than  tiie  fallnes  of  the 
Holfton,  and  they  have  been  found  as  far  north  as  the 
Arctic  circle.  Thofe,  therefore,  who  arc  of  opinion  ihat 
the  elephant  and  mammoth  are  the  fame,  mult  believe — - 
I.  That  the  elephant  known  to  us  can  exift  and  multiply- 
in  the  frozen  zone  ;  cr,  2.  That  an  eternal  fire  may  once 
have  warmed  thole  regions,  and  fince  abandoned  them^ 
of  which,  however,  the  globe  exhibits  no  unequivocal 
indications ;  or,  3.  That  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic, 
when  thefe  elephants  lived,  was  fo  great  as  to  include  with- 
in the  tropics  all  thofe  regions  in  which  the  bones  are 
found:  the  tropics  being,  as  is  befrre  obferved,  the  na- 
tural limits  of  habitation  for  the  elephant.  But  if  it  be 
admitted  that  this  obliquity  has  really  decreafed,  and  we 
adopt  the  higheft  rate  of  decreafe  yet  pretended,  that  is 
of  one  minute  in  a  century,  to  transfer  the  northern  tro. 
pic  to  the  Ardic  circle,  would  carry  the  exiflence  of  thefe 
fuppofed  elephants  250,000  years  back;  a  period  far  be- 
yond our  conception  of  the  duration  of  animal  bones  left 
expofed  to  the  open  air,  as  thefe  are  in  many  inftances. 
Befides,  though  thefe  regions  would  then  be  fuppofed  with- 
in the  tropics,  yet  their  winters  would  have  been  toa 
fevere  for  the  fenfibility  of  the  elephant.  They  would 
have  had  too  but  one  day  and  one  night  in  the  year,  a 
circumflance  to  which  we  have  no  reafon  to  fuppole  the 
nature  of  the  elephant  fitted.  However,  it  has  been  de- 
monftrated,  that,  if  a  variation  of  obliquity  in  the  eclip- 
tic takes  place  at  all,  it  is  vibratory,  and  never  exceeds 
the  limits  of  9  degrees,  which  is  not  fufEcient  to  bring 
thefe  bones  within  the  tropics.  One  of  thefe  hypothefes, 
or  fome  other  equally  voluntary  and  InadmlfTible  to  cau- 
tious philofophy,  muft  be  adopted  to  fupport  the  opinion 
that  thefe  are  the  bones  of  the  elephant.  For  my  own 
part,  I  find  it  eafier  to  believe  that  an  animal  may  have 
exilted,  refembling  the  elephant  in  his  tuiks,  and  general 
anatomy,  while  his  nature  was  in  other  refpecls  extreme- 
ly different.  From  the  30th  degree  of  fouth  latitude  to 
the  3cth  of  north,  are  nearly  the  limits  which  nature  has 
fixed  for  the  exiftence  and  multiplication  of  the  elephant 
known  to  us.  Proceeding  thence  northwardly  to  36  i-s 
degrees,  we  enter  thofe  affigned  to  the  mammoth.     The 

O 


L     45     ] 

further  we  advance  north,  the  more  their  veftlges  multl-' 
ply  as  far  as  the  earth  has  been  explored  in  that  direction  ; 
and  it  is  as  probable  as  ctherwife,  that  this  progreffion 
continues  to  the  pole  itfelf,  if  land  extends  fo  far.  The 
centre  of  the  frozen  zone  then  may  be  the  achme  of  their 
vigour,  as  that  of  the  torrid  is  of  the  elephant.  Thus 
nature  feenis  to  have  drawn  a  belt  of  feparation  between 
thefe  two  tremendous  animals,  whofe  breadth  indeed  is 
not  precifely  known,  though  at  prefent  we  may  fuppofe 
it  about  6^  degrees  of  latitude  ;  to  have  afligned  to  the 
elephant  the  regions  fouth  of  thefe  confines,  and  thofe 
north  to  the  mammoth,  founding  the  conftitution  of  the 
one  ia  her  extreme  of  heat,  and  that  of  the  other 
in  the  extreme  of  cold.  When  the  Creator  has  therefore 
feparated  their  nature  as  far  as  the  extent  of  the  fcale  of 
animal  hfe  allowed  to  this  planet  would  permit,  it  feems 
pervcrfe  to  declare  it  the  fame,  from  a  partial  refem- 
blance  of  their  tufks  and  bones.  But  to  whatever  animal 
we  afcribe  thefe  remains,  it  is  certain  fuch  a  one  has  exiil- 
ed  in  America,  and  that  it  has  been  the  largell  of  all  ter- 
reftrial  beings.  It  fhould  have  fufficed  to  have  refcued  the 
earth  it  inhabited,  and  the  atmofphere  it  breathed,  from 
the  imputation  of  impotence  in  the  conception  and  nou- 
rilhment  of  animal  life  on  a  large  fcale:  to  have  ftifled, 
in  its  birth,  the  opinion  of  a  writer,  the  mod  learned  too 
of  all  others  in  the  fcience  of  animal  hiftory,  that  in  the 
new  world,  «  La  nature  vivante  eft  beaucoup  moins  agif- 
^'  iante,  beaucoup  moins  forte  :'*  that  nature  is  lefs  adive, 
lefs  energetic  on  one  fide  of  the  globe  than  fhe  is  on  the 
other.  As  if  both  fides  were  not  warmed  by  the  fame 
genial  fun  ;  as  if  a  foil  of  the  fame  chemical  compofition, 
was  lefs  capable  of  elaboration  into  animal  nutriment ;  as 
if  the  fruits  and  grains  from  that  foil  and  fun,  yielded  a 
lefs  rich  chyle,  gave  lefs  extenfion  to  the  folids  and  fluids 
of  the  budy,  or  produced  fooner  in  the  cartilages,  mem- 
brane*, and  fibres,  that  rigidity  which  retrains  all  fur- 
ther extenfion,  and  terminates  animal  growth.  The  truth 
is,  that  a  Pigmy  and  a  Fatagonian,  a  JMoufe  and  a  Mam- 
moth, derive  their  dimenfions  from  the  lame  nutritive 
juices.     The  difference  of  increment  depends  on  circum- 

*  BufFon,  xvixi.  122  edit,  Paris^  1764. 


(     46     ) 

Aanrcs  unfearcliable  to  beings  with  our  capacities.  Eve- 
ry race  of  animals  feems  to  have  received  from  their 
Maker  certain  laws  of  extenfion  at  the  time  of  their  for- 
mation. Their  claborative  organs  were  formed  to  pro- 
duce this,  while  proper  obftacles  were  oppofed  to  its  fur- 
ther progrefs.  Below  thcfe  liniits  they  cannot  fall,  nor 
rife  above  them.  What  internicdiate  ftation  they  fhall 
take  may  depend  on  foil,  on  climate,  on  food,  on  a  care- 
ful choice  of  breeders.  Bvz  all  the  manna  of  heaven 
would  never  raife  the  moufe  to  the  bulk  of  the  mammoth. 
The  opinion  advanced  by  the  Count  de  Buffbnf,  is  i. 
That  the  animals  common  both  to  the  old  and  new  world, 
are  fmallcr  in  the  latter.  2.  That  thofe  peculiar  to  the 
new  are  an  afmaller  fcale.  3.  That  thofe  which  have 
been  domefticared  in  both,  have  degenerated  in  America: 
and  4.  Thai  on  the  whole  it  exhibits  fewer  fpecies.  And 
the  reafon  he  thinks  is,  that  the  heats  of  A.merica  are 
lefs  ;  that  more  waters  are  fpread  over  its  furface  by  na- 
ture, and  fewer  of  thefe  drained  off  by  the  hand  of  man. 
In  other  words,  thTit  beat  is  friendly,  and  j7ioi/lure  adverfe 
to  the  produ6lion  and  developement  of  large  quadrupeds. 
I  will  not  meet  this  hypothefis  on  its  firfl:  doubtful  ground, 
whether  the  climate  of  America  be  comparatively  more 
humid  ^  Becaufe  we  are  not  furnirtied  with  obfervations 
fufficient  to  decide  this  queftion.  And  though,  till  it  be 
decided,  we  are  as  free  to  deny,  as  others  are  to  attirm 
the  fad,  yet  for  a  moment  let  it  be  fuppofed.  The  hy- 
pothefis, after  this  fuppofition,  proceeds  to  another  ;  that 
moijlure  is  unfriendly  to  animal  growth.  The  truth  of 
this  is  infcrutable  to  us  by  reafonings  a  priori.  Nature 
has  hidden  from  us  her  modus  agendi.  Our  only  appeal 
on  fuch  queflions  is  to  experience ;  and  I  think  that 
experience  is  againft  the  fuppofition.  It  is  by  the 
afliitance  of  heat  and  mcijiure  that  vegetables  are  elaborat- 
ed from  the  elements  of  earth,  air,  water,  and  fire. — • 
We  accordingly  fee  the  more  humid  climates  produce  the 
greater  quantity  of  vegetables.  Vegetables  are  mediately 
or  immediately  the  food  of  every  animal :  and  in  propor- 
tion to  the  quantity  of  food,  we  fee  animals  not  only 
multiplied  in  their  numbers,  but  improved  in  their  bulk, 
as  far  as  the  laws  of  their  nature  will   admit.     Of  thia 

\  xviii.    ICC— 156. 


(     47     ) 

©pinion  is  the  Count  de  Buftbn  himfelf  in  another  part  of 
his  work*:  "en  general  il  paroit  ques  les  pays  un  peu/rw^ 
*'  conviennent  mieux  a  nos  boeufs  que  les  pays  chauds,  ct 
*'  qu'ils  font  d*autant  plus  grofs  et  plus  grands  que  le  cli- 
"  mat  eft  plus  hiiinide   et   plus  abondans  ^en  paturages. 
*'  Les  boeufs  de  Danemarck,  dc  la  Podolie,  de  I'Ukraine 
*'  et  de  la  Tartarie  qui  habitent  les  Calmouques  font  les 
*'  plus  grands  de  tous.**     Here  then  a  race  of  animals,  and 
one  of  the  largeft  too,  has  been  increafed  in  its  dimenfions 
by  cold  and  vioijlure^  in  direct  oppofition  to  the  hypothefis, 
which  fuppofes  that  thefe  two  circumftances  diminifh  ani- 
fi\2\  bulk,  and  that  it  is  their   contraries  heat  and  drynefs 
which  enlarge  it.     But  when  we_  appeal   to  experience, 
v/e  are  not  to  reft  fatisfied    with   a  fingle  fact.     Let    us 
therefore  try  our  queftion  on  more  general  ground.    Let 
us  take  two  portions  of  the  earth,  Europe  and  America 
for  inftance,  fufficiently  extenfive  to   give  operation  to 
general  caufes  ;  let  us  confider  the  circumftances  peculiar 
to  each,  and  obferve  their  eifedt  on  animal  nature.    Ameri- 
ca, running  through  the  torrid  as  well  as  temperate  zone, 
has  more  b.^'at  colleftivelv  taken,  than  Europe.    But  Eu- 
rope, according  to  our  nypothefis,  is   the  dryest.     They 
are  equally  adapted  then  to  animal  produdions  ;  each  be- 
ing endowed  with  one  of  thofe  caufes  which  befriend  an- 
imal growth,  and  with   one  which   oppofes  it.     If  it  be 
thought  unequal  to  compare  Europe  with  America,  which 
is  fo  much  larger,  I  anfwer,  not  more  fo  than  to  compare 
America  with  the  whole  world.     Befides,  the  purpofe  of 
the  comparifon  is  to  try  an  hypothefis,  which  makes  the  . 
fize  of  animals  depend  on  ihebeat  and  m&ijiure  of  climate. 
If  therefore  we  take  a  region,  fo  extenfive  as  to  compre- 
hend a  fenfible  diftinftion  of  climate,  and  fo  extenfive  too 
as  that  local  accidents,  or  the  intercourfe  of  animals  on  its 
borders,  may  not  materially  eft'e6l  the  fize  of  thofe  in  its 
interior  parts,  we  fhall  comply  with  thofe  conditions  which 
the  hypothefts  may   reafonably  demand.     The  objeftion 
would  be  the  weaker  in  the  prefent  cafe,  becaufe  any  in- 
tercourfe of  animals  which  may  take  place  on  the  confines 
of  Europe  and  Afia,   is  to  the  advantage  of  the  former, 
Afia   producing  certainly   larger    animals  than  Europe, 
i^gt  us  then  take  a  comparative  view  of  the  quadrupeds  of 

*  viii.  134. 


[     48     ] 

Europe  and  America,  prefenting  them  to  the  eye  in  three 
different  tables,  in  oneofwhich  fliall  be  enumerated  thofe 
found  in  both  countries  ;   in  a  fecond,  thofe  found  in  one 
only  ;  in  a  third,  thofe  which   have  been  domcfticated  in 
both.   To  facilitate  the  comparifon,  let  thofe  of  each  table 
be  arranged  in  gradation  according  to  their  fizes,  from  the 
greatefl:  to  the  finallefl:,  fo  far  as  their  fizes  can  be  conjec- 
tured.    The  weights  of  the  large  animals  fhall  be  expref- 
fed  in  the  EngliJh  avoirdupoife  pound  and  its  decimals  : 
thofe  of  the  fmaller,   in  the  fame  ounce  and  its  decimals. 
Thofe  which  are  marked  thus,*  are  adual  weights  of  par- 
ticularfubjeds,  deemed  among  the  largefl:  of  their  fpecies. 
Thofe  marked  thus,t  are  furnifhed  by  judicious  perfons, 
■well  acquainted  with  the  fpecies,  and   faying,  from  con- 
jetlure  only,  what  the  largefl  individual  they   had  feen 
w^ould  probably  have   weighed.    The  other   weights  arc 
taken  from  Meffrs.  Buffon  and  D'Aubenton,  and  are  of 
fuch  fubjecls  as  came  cafually  to  their  hands  for  diffecti- 
on.     This  circumflance  mufl  be  remembered  where  their 
weights  and  mine  fland  oppofed  :  the  latter  being  flated, 
not  to  produce  a  conclufion  in  favor  of  the  American  fpe- 
cies,   but  to  juflify  a  fufpenfion  of  opinion  until  we  are 
better  informed,  and  a  fufpicion,   in  the  mean  time,  that 
there  is  no  uniform  difference  in  favour  of  either  j  which 
is  all  I  pretend. 


(     49     ) 

A  comparative    View   of  the    Quadrupeds  of    Europe 

and  of  America. 

I.  Aboriginals  of  both. 


Mammoth 

Buffalo.  Bifon 

White  bear.  Ours  blanc, 

Carribou.  Renne. 

Bear.  Ours. 

Elk.  Elan.  Original  palmated 

Red  deer.  Cerf. 

Fallow  deer.  Daim. 

Wolf.     Loup 

Roe.  Chevreuil 

Glutton,  G  lout  an.    Carcajou 

Wild  cat.  Chat  fawvage 

Lynx.  Loup  cervier 

Beaver.  Cafior 

Badger-   Blaireau 

Red  fox.  Renard 

Grey  fox.    Jfatii 

Otter.  Loutre 

Monax.  Marmotie 

Vfon.  Fouine 

Hedge  hog:.  Heriffan 

Marten.  Marte 

Water  rat.  Rat  d\au 
Weafel.     Belette 
Flying  fquirrel.   Polatouche 
Shrew  moufe.  Mujaraigne 


Europe. 

America. 

lb. 

lb. 

*i8oo 

'537 

*4io 

288.8 

167.8 

69.8 

56.7 

*273 

25. 

18.5 

13.6 

t3® 
*45 

8.9 

6.5 

3.8 

ti2 

2.2 
1.9 
0%. 

16 

7-5 
2.2 

2.2 

I. 

02. 
t4 

(     so     ^ 
II.  Aboriginals  of  one  only. 


EUROPE. 


Safiglier.  Wild  boar 

Moujion .  U  'tld/hecp 

Bou'juetin.  Wild  godt 

Lievrc.  EI  a  re 

7.apin.    Riibit 

Putois.  Polecat 

CyCHette 

Dcfman.  Mu/krat 

Ecureuil.  Squirrel 

Hertninc.  Erniiii 

Rat.     Rat. 

Loirs 

Lcrot.  Dormoufc 

Eaupe.   Mole 

Hamjicr 

Zifel 

Lcming 

Sour  is.  Moufe 


lb. 
280. 
56. 

7.6 

3-4 
3-3 

3-1 

oz.. 

11. 

8.2 

7'S 

3-' 

i.8 

1.2 


6. 


AMERICA 


Tapir 

Elk,  round  horned 

Puma 

Jaguar 

Cabiai 

Eamanoir 

Tammandua 

Cougar  of  N.  America 

Cougar  of  S  America 

Ocelot 

Pecari 

Jaguaret 

Alco 

Lama 

Taco 

Paca 

Serval 

Sloth.  Unau 

Sericoviejuie 

Kincojou 

Eatou  Kabaffou 

Urfon.     Urchin 

Rauoon,  Rjiton 

Coaii 

Coendou 

Sloth.  Ai 

Sapajou  Ouarini 

Sapajou    Coaita 

Tatou   Encubert 

Tatoii  Apar 

Tatou  Cachica 

Little  Coendou 

Opojfuni.  Sarigue 


533- 
t457- 

21S. 
109. 

IS- 

59'4r 

4^-3 
43-^ 


32.7 
27.25 

21,5 


16-5 


16.- 
13- 

9.S 


7- 
^•5 


(    51     ) 

II.  Table  continued. 


EUROPE, 

AMERICA. 

lb. 

Tapeii 

Margay 

Crabier 

Agouti 

4.2    . 

Sapajou  Sdi 

ys 

Tatou  Cirquincon 

• 

Tatou  Tatouate 
Mouffette  Squafh 

3-5 

Moiffette    Chinche 

Mouffette  Conepate. 

Scunk 

Moufette.  Zorilla 

Whabus.  Hare.  Rabbit 

Aperea 

Akouchi 

Ondatra  Mujkrat 
Pilori 

Great  grey  fquirrel 

f2.7 

Foxfquirrel  of  Virginia 

12.625 

Surikate 

2. 

Mink 

u. 

Sapajou.  Sajou 

1.8 

India  pig.  Cochon'd 

Inde 

1.6 

Sapajou  Sdimiri 

1-5 

Phalanger 

Cequallin 

Leffer  grey  fquirrel 

tr.5 

Blackfquirrel 

ti.5 

Red  fquirrel 

10.  oz^- 

Sagoin  Saki 

[     Si     1 

II.  Table  continued. 

EUROPE. 

JMERICJ 

S again  Pincbe 

Sagoin  Tamarin 

oz. 

Sitgoin  OuiJlHi 

4.4 

Sc2goin  Marakine 

Sago'tn  Mico 

Cayopolim 

Fourmi/lier 

Marmo/e 

Sarigue  of  Cayenne 

Tucan 

Red  mole 

oz. 

Ground  fquirrel 

4- 

III.  Domeflicated  in  both. 


Cozo 

Horfe 

Afs 

Hog 

Sheep 

Goat 

Dog 

Cat 


Europe. 

America, 

lb. 
765- 

lb. 

*2500 

*i366 

*I200 

67.6 
7- 

*125 

*8o 

H 


C      54     ] 

I  have  not  inferted  in  the  firft  table  the  Phoca*  nor 
leather-winged  bat,  becaufe  the  one  living  half  the  year 
in  the  vi'ater,  and  the  other  being  a  winged  animal,  the 
individuals  of  each  fpecies  may  vifit  both  continents. 

Of  the  animals  in  the  ift  table,  Mof.  de  Buffon  himfelf 
informs  uSj  (XXVII.  130.  XXX.  213.)  that  the  beaver, 
the  otter,  and  (hrew  moufe,  though  of  the  fame  fpecies, 
are  larger  in  America  than  Europe.  This  fhould  therefore 
have  corrected  the  generality  of  his  expreffions  XVIII. 
145.  and  elfewhere,  that  the  animals  common  to  the  two 
countriej,  are  confiderably  lefs  in  America  than  in  Europe, 
'  ct  cela  fans  aucune  exception.'  He  tells  us  too,  (Quad- 
rup.  Vill.  334.  edit.  Paris  ^yjj^  that  on  examining  a 
bear  from  America,  he  remarked  no  difference,  '  dans 
'  la  forme  de  cet  ours  d'Am.erique  compare'  a  celui  d'Eu- 
*  rope  ;'  but  adds  from  Bartram's  journal,  that  an  Ame- 
rican bear  weighed  4oolb.  Englifli,  equal  to  3671b.  French: 
whereas  we  find  the  European  bear  examined  by  Monfieur 
D'Aubenton,  [XVII.  82.3  weighed  but  1411b.  French* 
That  the  palmated  elk  is  larger  in  America  than  Europe, 
we  are  informed  by  Kalm,t  a  naturalift  who  vifited  the 
former  by  public  appointment,  for  the  exprefs  purpofe 
of  examining  the  fubjeds  of  natural  hiftory.  In  this  fa£t 
R§nant  concurs  with  him.  [Barrington*s  Mifcellanies."] 
The  fameKalm  tells  us,|  that  the  black  moofe,  or  renne 
of  America  is  as  high  as  a  tall  horfe ;  and  Catefby,§  that 
it  is  about  the  bignefs  of  a  middle  fized  ox.  The  fame  ac- 
count of  their  fize  has  been  given  me  by  many  who  have 
feen  them.  But  Monfieur  D'Aubenton  faysjl  that  the 
renne  of  Europe  is  but  about  the  fize  of  a  red  deer.  The 
'Weafel  is  larger  in  America  than  Europe,  as  may  be  feen 
by  comparing  its  dimenfions  as  reported  by  Monfieur  D'- 
Aubenton^  and  Kahn.  The  latter  tells  us**  that  the 
lynx,  badger,  red  fox  and    flying  fquirrel,  are   the  fame 

*  It  15  faii^  that  this  animal  is  feldom  feen  above  5cmilrs  from  fl-.ore 
or  heyo'id  the  c^^th.  decree  of  laririide.  The  interjacent  illands  between 
Afia  and  America  admit  his  paiFing  from  one  continent  to  the  other 
without  exceeding  ihefe  boi:nds.  And  in  fa',^  travellers  tell  us  that 
t'.iefe  illands  are  places  of  principal  refort  lor  them,  and  dpecially 
in  the  fcafon  of  bringing  forth  their  voung. 

■\    I.   2?^   Lon.   1772'.       X  IW.    2:3.     $  I.  xxvii.     |1  XXIV.   162. 

%  XV.  42.     **  I.  ?59-     1.48.22;.  ;i  .    II.  5.^.     ' 


[    5S    J 

in  America  as  in  Europe  :    by  which  cxprefllon  I  under- 
Hand,  they  are  the  iaine  in  all  material  circunillances,  in 
fize  as  well  as  others  :  for  if  they  were  fmaller  they  would 
differ  from  the  luiropean.     Our  grey  fox  is  by  Catefby's 
account,*  little  different  in  fize  and   fliape  from  the    Eu- 
ropean fox.     I  prefume  he  means  the  red  fox  of  Europe, 
as  does  Kalm  where  he  fays  t  that  in  fize  they  do  not  quite 
come  up  to  our  loxes/      For  proceeding  next  to  the  red 
fox  of  America,  he  fays  '  they  are  entirely  the  lame  with  the 
European  fort  :'  which   ihows  he  had   in  view  one  Euro- 
pean fort  only,  which  was  the  red.     So  that  the  refult  of 
their  tellimony    is,  that    the  American  grey  fox  is  fome- 
what  lefs  than  the  European  red  ;  which  is  equally   true 
of  the  grey  fox  of  Europe,  as  riiay  be  feen  by  comparing 
the  meafures  of  the  Count  de  Buffon  and  Monf.  D'Au- 
bentonj.     The  v/hite  bear  of  America  is  as   large   as  that 
of  Europe.  The  bones  of  the  mammoth  which  have  been 
found  in  America,  are  as  large  as  thofe  found  in  the  old 
world.    It  may  be  alked,  why  I  infert  the  mammoth,  as  if 
it  iViW  exifted  ?  I  afk  in  return,  why  I  fliould  omit  it,  as  if 
it  did  not  exift  ?     Such  is   the  oeconomy  of  nature,  that 
no  inftance  can  be  produced,  of  her  having  permitted  any 
one  race  of  her  animals  to  become  extind  ;  of  her  hav- 
ing formed  any  hnk  in  her  great  work  fo  weak  as  to  be 
broken.     To  add  to  this,  the  traditionary  teftimony  of  the 
Indians,  that  this  animal  ftillexifls  in  the  northern  and  wef- 
tern  parts  of  America,  wouldbe  adding  thelightof  ataperto 
that  of  the  meridian   fun.     Thofe  parts    fiill  remain   in 
their  aboriginal  fiate,  unexplored  and  undiilurbed  by  us, 
or  by  others  for  us.    He  may  as  well  exiff  there  now,  as 
he  did  formerly  where  we  find  his  bones.     If  he  be  a  car- 
nivorous animal,    as  fome  anatomifts  have  conjectured, 
and  the  Indians  affirm,  his  early  retirement   maybe  ac- 
counted for  from  the  general  deftruclion  of  the  wild  game 
by  the   Indians,  whicb   commences  in  the  hrft  inllant  of 
their  connexion  with  us,  for  the  purpofe   of  purchafing 
match-coats,  hatchets  and  firelocks,  with    their  (kins. — 
There  remain  then    the   buffaloe,  red  deer,  fallow  dceVy 
wolf,  roe,  glutton,  wild-cat,    monax,  vifon,    hedgehog, 

H2 

*  H.  ■j'^.     f  I.  720.     X  XXVII.  63.  Xiy.    1 1(^.  Han-is,  II.  387. 
Calvon.  Ouad.  IX     i. 


C     S5     J 

marten,  and  water-rat,  of  the  comparative  fizes  of  which 
we  have  not  fufficient  teftimony.     It  does  not  appear  that 
Meffrs.  deBuffon  and  D'Aubentonhave  nieafured,  weigh- 
ed, orfeen  thofe  of  America.     It  is  faidof  fome  of  them, 
by  fome  travellers,  that  they  are  fmaller  than  the  Europe- 
an.    But  who  were  thefe  travellers  ?  Have  they  not  been 
men  of  a  very  different  defcription  from  thofe  who  have 
laid  open  to  us  the  other  three  quarters  of  the  wrrld  ? — 
Was  natural  hiftory  the  objeO;  of  their  travels?     Did  they 
meafure  or  weigh  the  animals  they  fpeak  of  ?  or  did  they 
not  judge  of  them  by  fight,  or  perhaps  even  from  report 
only  ?  Were  they  acquainted  with  the   animals  of  their 
own  country,  with  which  they  undertake  to  compare  theai? 
Have  they  not  been  fo  ignorant  as  often  to   miftake   the 
fpecies  ?  A  true  anfw^r  to  thefe  queftions  would  probably 
lighten  their  authority,  fo  as  to  render  it  infufficient  for 
the  foundation  of  an  hypothefis.     How  unripe  we  yet  are, 
for  an  accurate  comparifon  of  the  animals  of  the  two  coun- 
tries, will  appear  from  the  work  of  Monfieur  de  Buflbn. 
"i  he  ideas  v/e  fhould  have  formed  of  the  fizes  of  fome  ani- 
mals, from  the  information  he  had   received    at  his  firil 
publications  concerning  them,    are  very  different    from 
what  his  fubfequent  communications  give  us.  And  indeed 
his  candor  in  this  can  never  be  too  much  praifed.      One 
fentence  of  his  book  muft  do  him  immortal  honor.  '  J'aime 
'  autant  une  perfonne  qui  mereleve  d'une  erreur,  qu'urie 
'  autre  qui  m'apprend  une  verite,  parce  qu'en  eflet  une  er- 
'  reur  corrigee  eft  une  veritee'.*  He  feems  to  have  thought 
the  cabiai  he  firft  examined  wanted  little  of  its  lull  growth. 
"•'  il  n'etoit  pas  encore  tout-a-fait  adulte.f*    Yet  he  weighed 
but  4641b.  and  he  found  afterwards, +  that  thefe  animals 
when  fullgrown,  weigh  loolb.  He  had  iuppoled  from  the 
examination  of  a  jaugar,§  faid  to  be  two  years  old,  which 
weighed  but  i61b.  i20z.  that  when  he  fliould  have  acquir- 
ed his  full  growth,  he  would  not  be  larger  than  a  middle 
fized  dog.  But  a  fubfequent  account  ||  raifes  his  weight  to 
2oolb.     Further  information  will,  doubtlefs,  produce  fur- 
ther corrections.     The  wonder  is,  not  that  ther*"^  is  yet 
fomethingin  thisgreatworkto  corred,batthat there  isfolit- 

*  Quad.  IX.   t;3.— t  XXV.   184—;  ^luid.  ]X.  132.— 5  XIX.  2. 
[I  <;)jiatl.  iX.  ,<i. 


L     57     J 

tie.  The  refult  of  iliis  vijw  thjn  i^,  that  of  26  qiiadrupeJs 
common  to  both  countries,  7  are  faid  to  be  Lirgtr  in  A- 
merica,  7  of  equal  lize,  and  12  not  fufliciently  examined. 
So  that  the  firlt  tabic  impeaches  the  firlt  member  of  th;^ 
affertion,  that  of  the  animals  common  to  both  countries, 
the  Americans  are  the  fmalleft,  '  et  cela  fans  aucune  cx- 
*  ception/  It  (hows  it  not  juft,  in  all  the  latitude  in  which 
its  author  has  advanced  it,  and  probably  not  to  fuch  a  de- 
gree as  to  found  a  diflindion  between  the  two  countries. 

Proceeding  to  the  fecond  table,  which  arranges  the 
animals  found  in  one  ot  the  two  countries  only,  i\ionf.  dc 
Bufibn  obferves,  that  the  tapir,  the  elephant  of  America, 
is  but  of  the  fize  of  a  fmall  cow.  To  preferve  oar  com- 
parifon,  I  will  add,  that  the  wild  boar,  the  elephant  of  Eu- 
rope, is  little  more  than  half  that  fize.  I  have  made  an 
elk  with  round  or  cylindrical  horns  an  animal  of  America, 
and  peculiar  to  it ;  becaufe  I  have  feen  many  of  them  niy- 
felf,  and  more  of  their  horns  ;  and  becaufe  I  can  fay,  from 
the  bed  information,  thaf,  in  Virginia,  this  kind  of  elk 
has  abounded  much,  and  Hill  exilts  in  fmaller  numbers  ; 
and  I  could  never  learn  that  the  palmated  kind  had  been 
feen  here  at  all.  I  fuppofe  this  confined  to  the  more  nor- 
thern latitudes*.     1  have  made  our  hare  or  rabbit  peculi- 

*  The  defcripiions  of  Tlieodat,  Denys  and  La  flonton,  cited  by 
Monlieurde  Huifon,  under  the  anicle  P^Uin,  aiuliorif.- ti'.e  Uippoliiiou, 
that  the  flat-liorned  elk  is  found  in  the  nortliein  parts  of  America. — 
it  has  not,  however,  extended  to  our  latitude;?.  Ou  il'ie  other  hand 
I  could  never  learn  that  tl.e  round-horned  elk  has  been  fc-cn  furtiier 
rorih  than  the  Hudfon's  river.  Ihis  agrees  with  the  lormcr  elk  in 
its  general  character,  being  like  that,  when  compared  with  a  deer, 
very  mucli  largtfr,  its  ears  longer,  broader,  and  thicker  in  pi  ouorti- 
on,  its  liair  much  longer,  neck  and  tail  Onorter,  having  a  dev.hip  be- 
fore the  breaft  (caruncula  gulturalis  Linnri)  a  white  fpot  often,  if 
not  always,  of  a  foot  diameter,  on  the  hinder  part  of  the  burtock? 
round  the  tail  ;  its  gait  a  trot,  and  attended  with  a  rattling  of  rhe 
hoofs  :  but  diilinguiflied  from  tl  at  decilivelv  by  its  horns,  which  are 
not  1  ahnated,  but  round  and  pointed.  This  is  the  animal  defcrihed  by 
Caielby  asthe  Cervus  major  Americanus,  the  Hag  of  America,  IcCerf 
de  I'Amerique.  But  it  diliers  from  tie  Cervus  as  totally,  ns  does  the 
palmated  elk  from  thedania.  And  in  fact  it  fecms  toiland  in  the  fame 
relation  to  the  palmated  elk,  as  the  red  deer  docs  to  th?  tallow.  It  h;!? 
abounded  in  \'irginia,  has  been  feen  within  my  knowledge  on  the  eaf- 
ternfide  ofihc  blue  ridg*^  fnce  the  year  i  765,  is  now  common  beyond 
thr>fe  mountains,  has  often  been  binugiit  to  us  and  ranted,  and  its 
horns  are  in  the  hands  of  many.  1  fliould  defignate  it  as  the  *  Aires 
AmerJcanus  cornibus  tereiibus.'     It  were  to  be  wiflied,  tbac  natural. 


C    ss    ) 

ar,  believing  it  to  be  different  from  bot^Ffthe  European  a- 
iiiiiials  of  thofe  dencminatinns,  and  calling  it  therefore  by 
its  Aigonbuin  name,  Whabus,  to  keep  it  diltind  from 
thei'e.  Kakn  is  of  the  fame  opininion.*  I  have  enume- 
rated the  fquirrels  according  to  our  own  knowledge,  de- 
rived from  daily  fight  of  them,  becaufelam.  not  able  to 
reconcile  with  that  the  European  appellations  and  defcrip- 
tions.  I  have  heard  of  other  fpecies,but  they  have  never 
come  -within  my  notice.  Thefe,  I  think  are  the  only  in- 
itunces  in  which  I  have  departed  from  the  authority  of 
Monf.  de  Buffon  in  the  conltruclion  of  this  table.  I  take 
him  for  my  ground  work,  becaufe  I  think  him  the  beft  in- 
formed of  any  naturalill  who  has  ever  written.  The  re- 
fult  is,  that  there  are  i8  quadrupeds  pecuHar  to  Europe  ; 
more  than  four  times  as  many,  to  wit,  74,  peculiar  to  A- 
rnerica  ;  that  thef  firft  of  thefe  74  weighs   more  than  the 

iRs  who  are  acqnaintc-d  wirl''  tlie  renne  and  elk  of  Europe,  and  who 
may  hereafter  vifit  rhe  northern  parts  oi  America,  would  examine 
weii  the  animals  called  there  by  the  names  ol  grey  and  blact  moofe, 
caribou,  oriainiil  and  elk.  Moiilieur  de  ButFon  has  done  what  could 
be  done  from  tiie  materials  in  his  hands,  toward  clearing  up  the  con- 
lufion  introduced  by  the  ioofe  application  of  thei'e  names  among  the 
animals  they  are  meant  to  defignate.  Ke  reduces  the  whole  to  the 
renne  and  flat-horned  elk.  from  all  the  information  I  have  been  a- 
ble  tocolleft,  Ulrongly  fufped  they  will  be  found  to  cover  three,  if 
tiot  four  dillindl  fpecies  of  animals.  I  have  feen  (kins  of  a  moofe,  and 
of  the  caribou ;  tlicy  diil'er  more  from  each  other,  and  from  that  of 
the  round-horned  elk,  than  1  evcrfavv  two  (kins  differ  which  belong-' 
ed  to  different  individuals  of  any  wild  fpecies.  Thefe  differences  are 
in  the  colour,  length  and  coarfenefs  of  the  hair,  and  in  the  lize,  tex- 
ture, and  marks  of  the  ficin.  Perhaps  it  will  be  found  that  there  is, 
I.  The  moofe,  black  and  grey,  the  former  being  laid  to  be  the  male, 
and  the  latter  tiie  female.  2.  The  caribou  or  renne,  ^.  The  flat 
horned  elk,  or  original.  4.  The  round  horned  elk.  Should  this  lalt, 
though  podefiino;  fo  nearly  the  chjirsirter  of  the  elk,  he  found  to  be  the 
fame  with  the  Cerf  d'Ardemies  or  Erandhirtz  of  Germany,  Hill  their 
will  remain  i!;e  three  fpecies  iirfl;  enumerated. 

*Ka1mII.?_4o.  I.  S2. 

f  The  Tapir  is  the  larixefl  of  tlje  animals  peculiar  to  America. — 
I  collert  his  weight  tiuis.  Ivlonfieur  de  Euffon  fays,  XXIII.  274,  that 
he  is  of  the  nze  of  a  Zebu,  or  a  fin?ll  cow.  lie  gives  us  the  mea- 
furesofa  Zebu.  ib.  94.  astnken  by  himfelf,  viz.  5  feet  7  incuts  Irom 
the  mazxle  to  the  root  of  the  tail,  and  5  feet  i  inch  circumleience 
t-ehiud  the  fore  legs.  A  bull,  meafuring  in  tiie  (dme  way  6  feet  9 
jnches  and  5  feet  2  inch?s,  weiaiel  ooolb  VIII.  15^.  The  Zebu 
then,  and  of  courle  the  T.ipir,  would  weigh  about  53olb.  But  one 
juJividu))  of  every  fp-cies  of  Kuropeaa  p-culiars  would  probably 
weigh  lefs  than  ioslb.  Thefe  .ire  l''icoch  meafures  nud  weights. 


[     59     ] 

whole  column  of  European? ;  and  coniequentlv  th'S  fecond 
table  difproves  the  fecond  member  of  the  aflerlion,  that 
rhe  animals  pecuhar  to  the  new  world  are  on  a  faiallcr 
fcale,  fo  far  as  that  aiTertion  reHed  on  European  animals 
for  fupport:  and  it  is  in  full  oppofuion  to  the  theory  which 
makes  the  animal  volume  to  depend  on  the  circumftances 
cf  beat  and  moijlure. 

The  Hid.  table  comprehends  thofe  quadrupeds  only 
which  are  domelHc  in  both  countries-  That  fomeof  thefe, 
in  fome  parts  of  America,  have  become  Icfs  than  their  o- 
rii;inal  flocks,  is  doubtlefs  true;  and  the  reafon  is  very 
obvious.  In  a  thinly  peopled  country,  the  fpontaneous 
productions  of  the  foreffs  and  wafte  fields  are  fufficient  to 
fupport  indiirerently  the  domeflic  animals  of  the  farmer, 
with  a  very  little  aid  from  him  in  the  fevereft  and  fcarceil 
feafon.  He  therefore  finds  it  more  convenient  to  receive 
them  from  the  hand  of  nature  in  that  indifferent  ftate,  than 
to  keep  up  their  fize  by  a  care  and  nourilhment  which 
would  coll  him  much  labour.  It  on  this  low  fare,  thefe 
animals  dwindle,  it  is  no  more  than  they  do  in  thofe  parts 
of  Europe  where  the  poverty  of  the  foil,  or  poverty  of 
the  owner  reduces  them  to  the  fame  fcanty  fubliflence. — 
It  is  the  unifo;m  effect  of  one  and  the  fame  caufe,  whe- 
ther ading  on  this  or  that  fide  of  the  globe.  It  would  be 
erring  therefore  againfl  that  rule  of  philbfophy,  which 
teaches  us  to  afcribe  like  effedls  to  like  caufes,  fliould  we 
impute  this  diminution  of  fize  in  America  to  any  imbecili- 
ty or  want  of  uniformity  in  the  operations  of  nature.  It 
may  be  affirmed  with  truth,  that  in  tiiofe  countries,  and 
with  thofe  individuals  of  America,  where  necefhty  or  cu- 
riofity  has  produced  equal  attention  as  in  Europe  to  the 
nourifhment  of  animals,  the  horfes,  cattle,  fneep,  and 
hogs  of  the  one  continent  are  as  brge  as  thofe  of  the  other. 
There  are  particular  inftances  well  atteflied,  where  indivi- 
duals of  this  country  have  imported  good  breeders  from 
England,  and  have  improved  their  lize  by  care  in  the 
courfe  of  fome  years.  To  make  a  fair  comparifon  between 
the  two  countries,  it  will  not  ajifwer  to  bring  together  a- 
nimals  of  what  might  be  deemed  the  middle  or  ordinary 
fize  of  their  fpecies:  becaufe  an  error  in  judging  of  that 
middle  or  ordinary  fize  would  varv  the  refult  of  the  com- 


(     6o     ) 

pari^n.  Thus  Monfieur  D'Aubenton**  confiders  a  horfc 
of  4  feet  5  inches  high  and  4ooIb.  weight  French,  equal 
to  4  feet  8.6  inches  and  4361b.  Knghfli,  as  a  middle  fized 
horfe.     Such  a  one  is  deemed  a  fmal,!  horfe  in  America. 
The  extremes  muft  therefore  be  reforted  to.  The  fame  an- 
atomiftf  diflefted  a  horfe  of  5  feet  9  inches  high,  French 
meafure,  equal  to  6  feet  1.7  Englifh.  This  is  near  6  inch- 
es higher  than  any  horfe  I  have  feen;  and  could  it  be  fup- 
pcfed  that  I  had  feen   the  largeft  horfes?  in  America,  the 
ccnclufion  would  be,  that  ours   have  diminiilied,  or  that 
we  have  bred  from  a  fmaller  (lock.     In  Connedicut  and 
Rhode-Iiland,  where  the  climate  is  favourable  to  the  pro- 
dudion  of  grafs,  bullocks  have  been  flaughtered  which 
weighed    2500,  2200,    and  2ioolb.  nett ;  and  thcfe  of 
iSoolb.  have  been  frequent.     I  have  feen  a  hog  |  weigh 
iQi^olb.  after  the  blood,  bowels,  and  hair  had  been  taken 
from  him.     Before  he  was  killed,  an  attempt  was  made  to 
weigh  him  with  a  pair  of  fleel-yards,  graduated  to  i2oolb.! 
but  he  weighed    more.     Yet  this  hog  was  probably  not 
within  fifty  generations  of  the  European  (lock.     I  am  well 
informed  of  another  which  weighed    iioolb.  grofs.  AJfes 
have  been  ftill  more  neglefted  than  any  other  domeftic  ani- 
mals in  America.  They  are  neither  fed  norhoufedinthemofl 
rigorous  feafon  of  the  year.   Yet  they  are  larger  than  thofe 
meafured  by  Mon.  D'Aubenton,||  of  3  feet  7^  inches,  3  feet 
4  inches,  and  3  feet  2  and  a  half  inches,  the  latter  weigh- 
ing only  215.81b.  Thefe  fizes,  I  fuppofe,  have  been  pro- 
duced by  the  fame  negligence  in  Europe,  which  has  pro- 
duced a  like  diminution  here.  Where  care  has  been  taken 
of  them  on  that  fide  of  the  water,  they  have  been  raifed 
to  a  fize  bordering  on  that  of  the  horfe;  not  by  the  heat  and 
dryv.efs  of  the  clim.ate,  but  by  good  food  and  fhelter.  Goats 
have  been  alfo  much  neglected  in  Ameiica.  Yet  they  arc 
very  prolific  here,  bearing  twice  or  three  times  a  year,  and 
from  one  to  five  kids  at  a  birth.    Monfieur  de  Buffon  has 
been  fenf:ble  of  a  difference  in  this  circMmftance  in  favour 
of  Americaf.  But  what  are  their  greatefl  weights  I  cannot 
fay.  A  large  iheep  here  weighs  loolb.  1  obferve  Monfieur 
D'Aubenton  calls  a  ram  of  62lb.  one  of  the  middle  fize.^ 

*  VII.    4^2.— t  VII.   474. — X  In  WiHiarnfl)urgh,  April,  1 769. — 
Ij  VIII.  4S.  ^<i,  66.—^  XVIII.  96—^  IX.  41. 


(  ^I  ) 

But  to  fay  what  are  the  extremes  of  growth  in  thcfe  an4 
the  other  doinefiic  animals  ot  America,  would  require  in- 
formation of  which  no  one  individual  is  poficfTcd.  The 
weights  aclually  known  an  J  ilated  in  the  third  table  preced- 
ing will  fuffice  to  (how,  that  we  may  conclude,  on  proba- 
ble grounds,  that  with  equal  food  and  care,  the  climate 
of  America  will  prefervc  the  races  of  domeftic  animals  as 
large  as  the  European  flock  from  which  they  are  derived, 
and  confequently  that  the  third  member  of  Monfieur  de 
Bufibn's  allertion,  that  the  domeftic  animals  are  fubjcc^ 
to  degeneration  from  the  climate  of  America,  is  as  proba- 
bly wrong  as  the  firil  and  fecond  were  certainly  fo. 

That  the  laft  part  of  it  is  erroneous,  which  aflirms  that 
the  fpecies  ot  American  quadrupeds  arc  comparatively  few, 
is  evident  from  the  tables  taken  together.  By  thefe  it  ap- 
pears that  there  are  an  hundred  fpecies  aboriginal  of  Ame-. 
rica.  Monfieur  de  Buffon  fuppofes  about  double  that 
number  exifting  on  the  whole  earth*.  Of  thefe  Europe, 
Af;a  and  Africa,  furnilh,  fuppofe  126;  that  is,  the  26 
common  to  Europe  and  America,  and  about  ico  which 
are  no.*-  in  America  at  all.  The  American  fpecies  then  are 
to  thofe  of  the  reft  of  the  earth,  as  ico  to  i  26,  or  4  to  5, 
But  the  refidue  of  the  earth  being  double  the  extent  of 
America,  the  exad  proportion  would  have  been  but  as  4 
to  8. 

Hitherto  I  have  confidered  this  hypothefis  as  applied  to 
brute  animals  only,  and  not  in  its  extenfion  to  the  man  of 
America,  whether  aboriginal  or  tranfplanted.  It  is  the 
opinion  of  Monfieur  de  Buffon  that  the  former  furniflies 
no  exception  to  it. 5  '  Quoique  le  fauvage  du  nouveau 
'  monde  foit  a  peu-prcs  de  meme  ftature  que  Thomnie  de  no- 

*  tre  monde,  cela  ne  fuffit  pas  pour  qu'il  puiflc  faire  une  ex- 

*  ccptionau  fait  general  du  rapetiflementde  la  nature  vivante 

*  dans  toutce  continent:  le  fauvage  eft  foible  k  petit  par  les 

*  organes  de  la  generation ;  il  n'a  ni  poil,  ni  barbe,  &  nulle 

*  ardeurpour  fa  femclle.  QuoiquepluslogerqueTEurop.  en, 
'  parce  qu'il  a  plus  d'habitude  a  courir,  il  eft  cependant  beau- 
'  coup  moins  fort  de  corps:  il  eft  auffibien  moin  fenfible,  & 

*  cependant  plus  craintif  &  plus  kiche;  il  n'a  nuUe  vivacitc, 
'^  nuUc  aclivite  dtns  I'ame;    celledu  corps  eCt  moins  un  ex* 

*  trcice,  un  mouvement  volontaire  qu'une  n.'celTite  d'a£ti» 

I 
*  XXX.  2  1^.— V  XVIIL  146. 


{       62       ) 

on  caufcepar  ^e  befoyi;  otez  lui  la  faiin  S:  l;.i  ioif,  vous 
detruirez  en  rneme  temps  Je  prIncipe  aG:il"  de  tctis  fes 
inouvemens ;  il  deincurera  itapidenient  en  rt^pos  fur  fc-;3 
jambes  ou  couche  pendant  des  jours  enticrs.  II  ne 
iiiut  pas  ailer  chercher  plus  loin  la  cauie  de  la  viedifperfce 
des  iauvages  &  de  leur  eloignement  pour  la  focietc  :  la 
plus  precieule  etincelle  da  feu  de  la  nature  leur  a  etc  re- 
iufee  ;  ils  manquentd^irdcur  pour  leur  femelle,  &  par 
confequent  d'amour  pour  leur  femblables  :  ne  connoif- 
fant  pas  Tattachment  le  plus  vif,  leplus  tendre  de  tons, 
leurs  uutres  fentiniens  de  ce  genre,  font  froids  &:  languif- 
fans  ;  ils  aiment  foiblement  leurs  pcres  cc  leurs  enfans; 
la  focie'te  la  plus  innuie  de  toutes,  celle  de  la  meme  fa- 
mille,  n'a  done  chez  eux  que  de  foibles  liens  ;  la  foci- 
ete  d'une  famiilc  a  I'autre  n'en  a  point  du  tout  :  des  lors 
nulle  reunion^,  nulle  republique,  nuUe  etat  fecial.  La 
phyfique  de  Tamour  fait  chez  eux  le  moral  desmcsurs  ; 
leurcceur  eft  glace',  leur  focietc  &  leur  empire  dur.  lis 
ne  regardent  leurs  femmes  que  comme  des  fervantes  de 
peine  ou  des  betes  de  fomme  qu'iis  ehargent,  fans  me- 
nagement,  du  fardeau  de  leur  chalfe,  Sc  qu'ils  forcent, 
fans  pitie',  fans  reconnoiffance,  a  des  ouvrages  quifouvent 
font  audellus  de  leurs  forces  :  ils  n'ont  que  peu  d'enfans ; 
ils  en  ont  pen  de  foin  ;  tout  fe  reifent  de  leur  pren  i,  r  de- 
faut ;  ils, font  indifferents  parce  qu'ils  font  peu  puiifants, 
&  cetteindiiierence  pour  le  fexe  eit  la  tache  criginelle  qui 
fletrit  la  nature,  qui  i'empeche  de  s'epancuir,  ^  qui  de- 
truifant  tes  germes  de  la  vie,  coupe  en  meme  temps  la 
racine  de  la  iociete.  L'homme  ne  fait  done  point  d'ex- 
ceplion  ici.  La  nature  en  lui  refufant  lels  puiiTances  de 
PamourTa  plus  mahraite  Si  plus  rapetiffe  qu'aucun  des 
animaux.'  An  afilicling  picture,  indeed,  which,  lor  the 
honour  of  human  nature,  1  am  glad  to  believe  has  no  ori"-. 
ginal.  Of  the  Indian  of  vSouth  America  1  know  noth- 
ing ;  for  I  would  not  honour  with  the  appellation 
ol  knowledge,  what  I  derive,  from  the  fables  publilhed  ot 
them,  'i'hefe  I  believe  to  be  juft  as  true  as  the  fables  of 
I'.fop.  This  belief  is  founded  on  what  I  have  feen  of  man, 
white,  red,  and  black,  and  what  has  been  written  cf  him 
by  authors,  enlightened  tliemfelves,  and  writing  amidrt  an 
ea.  gh  ned  people.  The  Indian  of  North  America  be- 
in,-,  more  within  our  reach,  I  can  fpeak  of  him  foniewhat 
from  my  own  knowledge,     but  more  from  the  informati- 


(      63     ) 

vn  of  others  bciccr  acquainted  villi  lilm,  an.l  on  whoft; 
truth  aaJ  judgment  I  can  rely.  From  tliefe  lonrcos  1  am 
able  to  fay,  in  coniradiclion  to  this  reprefcntation  ,  th.at  he 
i»  neither  more  defeclive  in  arclcir,  nor  more  impotent 
irith  lila  ft-malc,  than  liic  white  reduced  to  the  famj  diet 
and  exercile:  that  he  is  brave  when  an  cnterprife  depends 
on  bravery  :  education  with  him  niuking  the  point  of  ho- 
nour conl'ill:  in  the  dednicUon  of  an  enemy  by  itratagcm, 
and  in  the  prefervalion  of  his  own  pcrfon  free  from  injury  ; 
or'perhaps  tbis  is  nature  ;  v,4i>!e  it  i>:e^bication  which  teaches 
us  to*  honour  force  more  than  fineu'e  :  tiiat  he  will 
defend  himfelf  againit  an  hod  of  enemies,  aU.vays  choof- 
ing  to  be  killed,  rather  than  f  to  furrcnder,  though  it  be  to 

*  Sol  Roilomnnre  fprezza  di  venire 

Senon,  uovcln  via  ineno  e  (icara,  AriuUo.   14.   117. 

t  In  fo  jiKiicious  an  anrh(»r  as  Don  Ullon,  and  one  to  whom  we  are 
Indehted  lor  ihe  n'.ofl  precilL-  inFormation  vsehavc  of  South  Aniericji, 
1  did  not  expect  .1)  tind  rjciiallLTtJons  as  tlie  toUowing.  '  ;..os  Indios 
vencidoslon  losinas  cobardes  y  puiilanimesqiie  le  peudcn  ver  :  Schaceri 
ii.vvntcs,  le  lnunillan  ha'.ta  e!  defprfcio,  difcu'.pnn  lii  inconfiderado 
arroio,  y  coa  la-s  suplicas  y  los  ruegos  dnn  ffgtiras  priielms  dc  fa  puli- 
I'lniii'd  d. — o  \o  t\\c  reHeren  las  liiitorias  de  la  Conqviifla,  lobrc  fi;? 
grandcs  acciones,  es  en  vm  i'cndiro  fiinirado,  o  el  car^fter  de  fltas 
gentes  no  cs  ahora  fcgun  era  entonces  ;  pero  lo  que  no  ticnc  duda  es, 
que  las  Nacionvrs  de  la  parr=  Septentrional  fniifillcn  en  la  miiina' 
libertad  que  fiempre  ban  tenido,  fin  ba!';cr  fido  foiuz»;ndos  por  algun 
Principe  extrano,  y  que  vivcn  fegtin  fa  rco^iir.en  y  colhimbres  de  toda 
ia  vida,  fin  que  liaya  habido  niotiv  o  para  que  ni'jden  de  carai^ler  ;  y 
en  eftos  fe  ve  lo  milino,  que  fucede  en  los  del  Pern,  y  de  tcda  la 
America  Meridional,  rcducidos,  y  que  runt  a  lo  I  an  eflado.'  Noticias 
Americanas.  Kntrcteniniento  XVlli.  ^  i.  Don  Ulloa  here  admits,  tliac 
the  authors  who  have  dcfct  ibcd  the  Indians  of  Scuth-America. before 
they  were  enilavcd,  had  rcpref^oted  ih.cin  as  a  brave  people,  and 
therefore  feems  to  have  fufpecied  ilvit  the  cowardice  which  he  had 
obfcrvcdin  thofe  of  the  prelent  race  nii;;ht  be  the  ctret-l  of  fubjugation. 
But,  fnppoiingthe  Indians  of  North  America  to  be  cowards  alf>,  he 
concludes  the  ancellors  of  thofe  of^  South  America  to  hr.ve  bten  fc  too, 
and  therefore  that  thofe  authors  hrve  ;2,i\en  fictions  for  truth.  He 
was  probably  not  acquainte'd  himfclf  wit!i  tlie  Indians  cA'  North  Ame- 
rica, and  had  formed  liis  opinion  of  them  from  h^ar-lhv.  Great  num- 
bers of  Krtnch,  of  Knglitli.  and  of  Atnericnnr;,  are  pcrlecily  acquaint- 
ed vvitli  thefe  people,  fl.ul  he  had  an  opportunity  of  enquiring  of 
anyof  thefe,  they  would  have  told  him,  that  tin  re  never  was  an  in- 
Itance  known  of  an  Indian  begging  his  life  wlien  in  the  power  of  his 
enemies  :  on  the  contrary,  that  he  courts  dea'h  hy  every  poiTible  in-  . 
fult  and  provocation.  His  reafoning  then  would  have  been  rcvrrfed 
thas.     *  Since  the  prefcnt  Iv.diin  ofMorth  America  is  brave,  and  aU- 

I    2 


(     64     ) 

the  v»'hites,  who  he  knows  will  treat  him  well :  that  in  o- 
ther  fituations  alfo  he  meets  death  with  more  deliberation, 
find  endures   tortures  with  a    firmncfs  unknovvn  almoll  to 
religious  enthufiafm  with  us  :   that  he  is  affectionate  to  his 
children,  careful  of  them,  and  indulgent  in  the  extreme  : 
that   his   atiedions   comprehend   his    other    connexions, 
weakening,    as  with   u? ,  from  circle  to  circle,  as  they  re- 
cede from  the  centre  :  that  his  friend fnips  are  ftrong  and 
faithful  to    the  utmofl  t  extremity  :  that  his  fenfibihty   h 
keen,  even  the  warriors  weeping  moff  bitterly  on  the  lofa 
of  their  children,  though  in  general  they  endeavour  to  ap- 
pear fuperior  to   human  events  :   that  his  vivacity  and  ac- 
tivity of  mind  is  equal  to  ours  in  the  fame  fituation  ;  hence 
his  tagernefs  for  hunting,  and  for  game  of  chance.     The 
women  are  fubmitted  to  unjufl  drudgery.     This  I  believe 
h  the    cafe   with   every  barbarous     people.     With  fuch, 
force  is  law.     The  ftronger  fex  therefore  impofes  on  the 
■weaker.     It  is  civilization  alone  which  replaces   women  in 
the  enjoyment  of  their  natural  equality.     That  fir  ft  teach- 
es us  to  fubdue  the  felfifli  paflions,  and   to    refped   thofe 
rights  in  others  which  we  value  in  ourfelves.     Were  we 
in  equal  barbarifm,   our  females  would  be  equal  drudges. 
The  man  with  them  is  lefs  ftrong  than  the  man  with   us, 

tliors  tell  us,  tliat  the  anceftors  of  thofe  of  fouth  America  •«rere  brave  al. 
lb  ;  it  miili:  follow,  that  the  cowardice  of  their  defcendants  is  the  ef- 
fedt  of  fubjugation  and  ill  treatment.'  For  he  obfervcs,  ibid.  ^,  27. 
that  ,  bos  obrages  losaniquilan  por  la  iiihunianidad  con  qiiefe  les  tra- 

ta*' 

-j-  A  rsniarkahle   inflance  of  this  appeared  in  the  cafe  of  th.e  laic 
Col.   Byrd,  who  was  lent  to  the  Cherokee  nation  to  tranfacl  Tome  bu-         i; 
fincfs  with  (hf  in.      It  happened  that  fome  of  our  dilordei  ly  people  had         M| 
j\ul  killed  one    or  two  of  that  nation.     It  was  therefore   propofed  in        fll 
tVv  council  of  the  Chcrokees  th;!t  Col.   Byrd  (houid    be   put  to  death,        H 
in  revencre    for  the  lofs    of  their  countrymen.     Among    them  was  a 
thief  called  Siloiiee,  who,  on  fnnie  former  occafion,  had  cont rafted  au 
acquaintance  &{nt;-dfhip  with  C  ol.  Byrd.  f.'ecanie  10  him  everv  night 
in  I)i3  tent,  and  to'.d  him  not  to  be  afraid,  they  fliould   not  kill  him. 
After  nianv  days  deliberation,  however,  the  determiualion  was  con- 
trary to  Silouee's  expectation,  that  Byrd  fliould  be  pur  todeaih,  and 
fome   warriors  were  dilparchcd  as  executioners,      ^ilouce   attended 
them,   an.l  w'.ien  liiry   entered  the  tent,  he   threw    hitnfclf- betwcf  m 
them  a-.id  Byrd,  and  fjid  to  the  warriors  '  This  niau  is  my  friend  :  be- 
fore  you  j»et  at  hiiu.  you  n-iu'l  kill  me.'    On  whicl;  ihcy  returned,    &    - 
the  council  refi-ccted  the  principle  lb  much  as  to  recede  from  their  Ac- 
tfru::i:atiun. 


(     65     ) 

Init  their  women  ftronger   tlian  ours;  aiul   both   tor  the 
fame  obvious  reafon  ;  becaufe  our  man  and  their  women 
is  habituated   to    labour,  and  fonnc  1  by  it.      With   both 
races  the  lex  which  is  indulged  with  cafe  i>  lea.'t  athletic. 
An  Indian  man  is  fniall  in  the  hand  and  wrifl,  for  the  fame 
reafon  for  which  afailor  is  large  and  ftrongin  the  arms  and 
Ihoulders,    and  a  porter  in    the   legs  and   thighs. —  They 
raife  fewer   children  than  we  do.      rhe  caufes  of  this  are 
to  be  found,  not  in  a    difference  of  nature,  but  of  circum- 
ilance.    The  women  very  frequently  attending  the  men  in 
their  parties  of  war  and  of  hunting,  child-bearing  becomes 
extremely    inconvenient  to    them.     It  is   faid,  therefore, 
that  they  have  learned  the  practice  of  procuring  aboration 
by  the  ufe  of  fome  vegetable  ;  and  that  it  even  extends  to 
prevent  conception  for  a  confiderable  time  after.      During 
thefe   parties   they   are  expofed  to  numerous   hazards,  to 
exceffive  exertions,  to  the  greateft  extremities  of  hunger. 
Lven  at  their  homes  the  nation  depends  for  food,  through 
a  certain  part  of  every  year,  on  the  gleanings  of  the  forell : 
that  is,  they  experience  a  famine  once  in  every  year.   With 
all  animals,    if  the  female  be  badly  fed,  or  not  fed  at  all, 
her  young  perifn  :  and  if  both  male  and  female  be  reduced 
to  like  want,  generation  becomes  lefs  adlive,  lefs  produc* 
tive.     To  the  obftacles  then   of  want  and  hazard,  which 
nature  hiis  oppofed  to  the  multiplication  of  wild  animals, 
for  the  purpofe  of  retraining  their  numbers  within  cer- 
tain bounds,  thofe  of  labour   and  of  voluntary   abortion 
are  added  with  the  Indian.     No  wonder  then  if  they  mul- 
tiply lefs  than  we  do.     Where  food  is  regularly  fupplied, 
a  fmgle  farm  will   fhow   more  of  cattle,    than   a   whole 
country  of  foreils  can  of  buffaloes.     The  fame   Indian 
women,  when  married  to  white  traders,  who  feed  them 
and  their  children  plentifully  and  regularly,  who  exempt 
them  from  excellive  drudgery,  who  keep  them  ftationary 
and  unexpofed   to  accident,  produce  and   raife  as  many- 
children  as  the  white  women.     Inftances  are  known,  un- 
der thefe  circumflances,  of  their  rearing  a  dozen  children. 
An  inhuman  pradice  once  prevailed  in  this   country,  of 
making  ilaves   of  the  Indians.     It    is  a  feci  well  known 
with  us,  that  the  Indian  women  foenilaved  produced  and 
raifed  as  numerous  families  as  either  the  whites  or  blacks 
among  whom  they  lived. — It   has  been  faid,  chat  Indians 


(    66    ) 

liave  lefs  haif  than  the  whites,  except  on  the  head.  But 
this  Is  a  fad  of  which  fair  proof  can  fcarcely  be  had.  With 
iheni  it  Is  difgraceful  to  behairy  on  the  body.  They  fay 
ic  hkens  them  to  hogs.  They  therefore  pluck  the  hair  as 
fafl  as  it  appears.  But  the  traders  who  marry  their  wo- 
men, and  prevail  on  them  to  difccntinne  this  pradice,  fay, 
that  nature  is  the  fame  with  them  as  with  the  whites.  Nor, 
if  the  fact  be  true,  is  the  confequence  neceifary  which  has 
been  drawn  from  it.  Negroes  have  notorioufly  iefs  hair 
than  the  whites  ;  yet  they  are  more  ardent.  But  if  cold 
and  moifliure  be  the  agents  of  nature  for  diminifhing  the 
race;  of  animals,  how  comes  {ha  all  at  once  to  fuipend  their 
operation  as  to  the  phyfical  man  of  the  new  world,  whom 
the  Count  acknov/ledges  to  be  '  a.  peu  pres  de  meme  fta- 
'  tureque  Thomme  de  notre  raonde,*  and  to  let  loofe  their 
influence  on  his  moral  faculties.''  How  has  this  '  combina- 

*  tlon  of  the  elements  and  other  phyfical  caufes,  fo  contra- 

*  ry  to  the  enlargement  of  animal  nature  in  this  new  world. 

*  thefe    obftacles    to   the  developement  and  formation  of 

*  great  germst,'  been  arrefted  and  fufpended,  fo  as  to  pei*- 
mit  the  human  body  to  acquire  its  juli  dimenfions,  and  by 
what  inconceivable  procefs  has  their  adion  been  direded 
on  his  mind  alone  ?  To  judge  of  the  truth  of  this,  to  form 
ajuft  eftimate  of  their  genius  and  mental  powers,  more 
fadls  are  wanting,  and  great  allowance  made  for  thofe  cir- 
cuniftance?  of  their  fituation  which  call  for  a  dlfplay  of  par- 
ticular talents  only.  This  done,  we  (hall  probably  find  they 
are  formed  m  mind  as  v/ell  as  in  body,  on  the  fame  module 
with  the  J  '  Homo  fapiens  Europaius.'  The  principles  of 
their  fociety  forbidding  all  compulnon,  they  are  to  be  led 
toduty  and  to  enterprize by  perfonal  influence  and  perfua- 
fion.  Hence  eloquence  in  council,  bravery  and  addrefs  in 
war,  become  the  foundations  of  all  confequence  with  them.' 
To  thefe  acquirements  all  their  faculties  are  direded.  Of 
their  bravery  and  addrefs  in  war  we  have  multiplied  proofs, 
becaufe  we  have  beenthefubjeds  on  which  they  were  exer- 
cifed.  Of  their  eminence  in  oratory,  we  have  fewer  exam- 
ples, becaufe  it  is  difplayed  chiefly  in  their  own  councils. 
Some,  however,  we  have  of  avery  fuperior  luflrc.  I  may 
challenge  the  whole  orations  of  Demoilhenes  and  Cicero, 
and  of  any  more  eminent  orator,  if  Europe  has  furnifhed 

tXVill.   m6.— :J:  Linn.  Svft,  Definiiicn  of  a  Man. 


(    6;    ) 

more  eminent,  to  prcJucc  a  fingle  paflage,  fupcrior  to  the 
I'pcech  oi"  Logan,  a  Mingo  chief,  to  Loi\i  Dunmore,  whea 
•governor  of  this.  (late.  .And,  as  a  teltimony  oF  their  ta- 
lents in  this  line,  I  beg  leave  to  introduce  it,  firft  Itaiing  the 
iiicidents  necclVary  for  underltanding  it. 

In  the  fpring  of  the  year  1774,  a  robbery  and  murder 
were  comniitted  on  an  inhabitant  ot  the  frontiers  of  Vir- 
ginia, by  two  Indians  of  tlie  Shawanee  tribe.  '1  he  neigh- 
bouring whites,  according  to  their  cuftoni,  undertook  to 
punilh  this  outrage  in  a  fummary  way.  Col.  Crefap,  a 
r.iau  infamous  for  the  many  murders  he  had  committed  on 
thofe  much  injured  people,  collected  a  party  and  proceed- 
ed down  the  Kanhaway  in  quelt  of  vengeance.  Unfor- 
tunately, a  canoe  of  women  and  children,  vithoneman 
only,  was  feen  coming  from  the  oppofite  Ihore,  unarmed, 
and  unfufpcding  an  holtile  attack  from  the  whites.  Cre- 
fap  and  his  party  concealed  themfelves  on  the  bank  of  the 
river,  and  the  moment  the  canoe  reached  the  fhore.  Ting- 
led out  their  objicts,  and,  at  one  fire,  killed  every  per- 
fon  in  it.  Ihis  happened  to  be  the  family  of  Logan,  who 
had  long  been  dittinguifiied  as  a  friend  of  the  whites. 
This  unworthy  return  provoked  his  vengeance.  He  ac- 
cordingly fignalized  hlmfelf  in  the  war  which  enfued.  hi 
the  autumn  of  the  fame  year,  a  decifive  battle  was  fought 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanhaway,  between  the  col- 
Ic'iled  forces  of  the  Shawanees,  Mingoes,  and  Delawares, 
and  a  detachment  of  the  Virginia  milicia.  Tite  Indians 
were  defeated,  and  fued  for  peace.  Logan  however  dif- 
dained  to  be  feen  among  the  fuppliants.  But,  left:  the  fin- 
cerity  of  a  treaty  fhould  be  dKlrufted,  from  which  fo  difhin- 
guifhed  a  chief  abfented  himielf,  he  fent  by  a  mefl'cnger  the 
following  fpeech  to  be  delivered  to  Lord  Dunmore. 

'  I  appeal  to  any  white  man  to  fay,  if  ever  he  entered 

*  Logan's  cabbin  hungry,  and  he  gave  him  not  meat  ;  if 
'  ever  he  came  cold  and  naked,  and  he  clothed  him  not. 

*  During  the  courfe  of  the  lall  long  and  bloody  war,  Logan 
'  remained  idle  In  his  cabbin,  an  advocate  for  peace.  Such 
'  was  my  love  for  the  whites,  that  my  countrymen  pointed 
'  as  they  pafled,  and  faid,  '  Logan  is  the  friend  of  white 
'  men.'     I  had  even  thought  to  have  lived  with  yon,  but 

*  for  the  injuries  of  one  man.  Col.  Crefiip,  the  lalt  fpring, 
'  in  cold  blood,    and  unprovoked,  rnurdr;rcd  all  the  reh- 


(     6S     ) 

'  tions  of  Logan,  not  fparing  even  njy  women  and  children, 

*  There  runs  not  a  drop  ot"  my  blood  in  the  veins  of  any 
'  living  creature.  This  called  on  me  for  revenge.  I  have 
'  fought  it  :  1  have  killed  many  :  1  have  fully  glutted  my 
'  vengeance.     For  my  country,  I  rejoice  at  the  beam.s  of 

*  peace.  But  do  not  harbour  a  thought,  that  mine  is  the 
'  joy  of  fear.     Logan  never  felt  fear.      He  will   not  turn 

*  on  his  heel  to  fave  his  life.  Who  is  there  to  mourn  for 
'  Logan  ? — Not  one.* 

Before  we  condemn  the  Indians  of  this  continent  as 
wanting  genius,  we  muft  confider  that  letters  have  not 
yet  been  introduced  among  them.  Were  v*'e  to  compare 
them  in  their  prefent  flate  with  the  Europeans,  north  of 
the  Alps,  when  the  Roman  arms  and  arts  firfl  croffed 
thofc  mountains,  the  comparifon  would  be  unequal,  be- 
caufe,  at  that  time,  thofe  parts  of  Europe  were  fwarming 
with  numbers  ;  becaufe  numbers  produce  emulation,  and 
multiply  the  chances  of  improvement,  and  one  improve- 
ment begets  another.  Yet  I  may  fafely  afls:,  how  many 
good  ptoes,  how  many  able  mathematicians,  how  many 
great  inventors  in  arts  or  fciences,  had  Europe,  North  of 
the  Alps,  then  produced?  And  it  was  fixteen  centuries  af- 
ter this  before  a  Newton  could  be  formed.  I  do  not 
mean  to  deny,  that  there  are  varieties  in  the  race  of  man, 
diftinguifhed  by  their  powers  both  of  body  and  mind.  I 
believe  there  are,  as  I  fee  to  be  the  cafe  in  the  races  of 
other  animals.  I  only  mean  to  fuggefl  a  doubt,  whether 
the  bulk  and  faculties  of  animals  depend  on  the  fide  of  the 
Atlantic  on  which  their  food  happens  to  grow,  or  which- 
furnifhes  the  elements  of  which  they  are  compounded  ? 
Whether  nature  has  enliftcd  herfelf  as  a  Cis  or  Trans- At- 
lantic partifan  ?  I  am  induced  to  fufpedt,  there  has  been 
more  eloquence  than  found  reafoning  difplayed  in  fupport- 
of  this  theory  ;  that  it  is  one  of  thofe  cafes  where  the 
judgment  has  been  feduced  by  a  glowing  pen  :  and  whilil 
I  render  every  tribute  of  honour  and  elleem  to  the  cele- 
brated zoologiff ,  who  has  added,  and  is  IHll  adding,  fo  ma- 
ny precious  things  to  the  treafures  of  fcience,  I  mult  doubt 
whether  in  this  inltance  he  has  not  cherlflied  error  alfo, 
by  lending  her  for  a  moment  his  vivid  imagination  and 
bewitching  language.  (4) 

So  far  the  Count  de  Bufibn  has  carried  this  new  theory 


of  the  tendency  ot  nature  to  belittle  h:r  produLlions  on 
this  fide  the  Atlantic.  Its  appliciition  to  the  race  of 
whites,  tranfplanted  from  Europe,  remained  for  the  Abbe 
Raynal.  *  On  doit  etre  etonnc  (he  fays)  que  rAnitrlque 
'  n'ait  pas  encore  produit  un  bon  poetc,  un  habile  ma- 
*  {hematieicn,  un  homme  de  genie  dans  un  feul  art,  ou 
'  une  feule  fcicnce.*  7.  Hilt.  Piiilof.  \).  92.  cd.  Mae- 
ftricht.  1774.  '  America  has  not  yet  produced  one  good 
'  poet.'  When  wc  (hall  have  exifled  as  a  people  as  lon^ 
as  the  Greeks  did  before  they  produced  a  Homer,  the 
Romans  a  Virgil,  the  French  a  Racine  and  Voltaire,  the 
Knpjhfli  a  Shakefpear  and  Milton,  fliould  this  reproach  be 
iiill  true,  we  will  enquire  from  wiiat  unfrier.dly  caufes  it 
has  proceeded,  that  the  other  countries  of  Europe  and 
quaters  of  the  earth  (hall  not  have  Infcribed  any  name  in 
the  roll  of  poets.*  But  neither  has  America  produced 
'  one  able  mathematician,  one  man  of  genius  in  a  fmgla 
'  art  or  a  fingle  fcience.'  In  war  we  have  produced  a 
Wafliington,  whofe  memory  will  be  adored  while  liber- 
ty Ihall  have  votaries,  whofe  name  will  triumph  over  time, 
and  will  in  future  ages  aflume  its  jufl  ftation  among  the 
mofl:  celebrated  worthies  of  the  v/orld,  when  that  wretch- 
ed philofophy  Ihall  be  forgotten  which  would  have  arran- 
ged him  among  the  degeneracies  of  nature.  In  phyhcs 
we  have  produced  a  Franklin,  than  whom  no  one  of  the 
prefent  age  has  made  more  important  difcoveries,  nor  has 
enriched  philofophy  with  more,  or  more  ingenious  folu- 
tions  of  the  phenomena  of  nature.  We  have  fuppofed 
Mr.  Rittcnhoufc  fecond  to  no  allronomcr  living  ;  that  in 
genius  hemuilbc  the  firft,  becaufe  he  is  felf-taught.  As 
an  artift  he  has  exhibited  as  great  a  proof  of  mechanical  ge- 
nius as  the  world  has  ever  produced.  He  has  not  indeed 
made  a  world  ;  but  he  has  by  imitation  approached  near- 
er its  Maker  than  any  man  who  has  lived  from  the  crea« 
tion  to  this  dav.f  As  in  philofophv  and  war,  fo  in  govern* 

K 

*  Has  the  work'  os  ^et  produced  more  than  two  poets,  acknow- 
ledged to  be  fuch  bv  ail  nations  ?  An  Enolininf.an,  only,  reads  Milton 
with  delight,  an  Itplian  TalTo,  a  Frencliiiran  the  Henriade,  a  Fortii- 
^Tuefe  Camoens  :  but  Hoiner  &  Vi;  oil  have  been  the  rapture  nfevery 
>ge  &  nation  :  they  are  reid  with  entliuliafm  in  their  ori<;inals  by  thofa 
who  can  read  the  originals,  and  in  tranllations  by  tho'e  who  cannot, 
-j-  There  are  various  ways  of  keeping  truth  on:  of  light.  Mr.  Ritttn- 
houfe's  model  of  the  planetary  fylleni  has  the  plagiary  appellation  o(' 
»u  Orrery  ;  and  the  c^uadraoL  invented  by  Godfrfy;  an  ."^inencan  aU 


(     70     ) 

ment,  in  oratory,  in  painting,  in  the  plaftic  art,  we  might 
iliow  that  America,  tho'  but  a  child  of  yefl:erday,hasah-eady 
■given  hoperal  proofs  of  genius,  as  well  of  the  nobler  kinds, 
which  aroule  the  bcfl;  feelings  of  man,  which  call  him  in- 
to aclion,  which  fubltantiate  his  freedom,  and  conduct 
him  to  happinefs,  as  of  the  fubordinate,  which  ferve  to 
amufe  him  only.  We  therefore  fuppofe,  that  this  reproach 
is  as  unjuft  as  it  is  unkind  ;  and  that,  of  the  geniufes  which 
adorn  the  prefent  age,  America  contributes  its  full  Ihare. 
For  comparing  it  with  thofe  countries,  where  genius  is 
mod  cultivated,  where  are  the  mod  excellent  models  for 
art,  and  fcaffbldings  for  the  attainment  of  fcience,  as 
France  and  England  for  indance,  we  calculate  thus.  The 
United  States  contain  three  millions  of  inhabitants  ; 
France  twenty  millions;  and  the  Britidi  iilands  ten.  Wc 
produce  a  Wafnington,  a  Franklin,  a  Rittenhoufe.  France 
then  iliould  have  half  a  dozen  in  each  of  thefe  lines,  and 
Great-Britain  half  that  number,  equally  eminent.  It 
may  be  true,  that  France  has :  we  are  but  jud  becoming 
acquainted  with  her,  and  our  acquaintance  fo  far  gives  us 
high  ideas  of  the  genius  of  her  inhabitants.  It  would  be 
injuring  too  many  of  them  to  name  particularly  a  Voltaire, 
a  Buftbn,  the  condellation  of  Encyclopedifts,  the  Abbe 
Raynal  himfelf,  &c.  &c.  We  therefore  have  reafon  to 
believe  (he  can  produce  her  full  quota  of  genius.  The 
piefcnt  war  having  fo  long  cut  off  all  communication 
with  Great  Britain,  we  are  not  able  to  make  a  fair  edimate 
of  the  date  of  fcience  in  that  country.  The  Ipirit  in  which 
ihe  wages  war,  is  the  only  fample  before  our  eyes,  and 
that  does  not  feem  the  ie;riiimate  offsprinsf  either  of  fci- 
ence  or  of  civihzation.  The  fun  of  her  glory  is  fad  de- 
icending  to  the  horizon — Her  philofophy  has  eroded  the 
Channel,  her  freedom  fhe  Atlantic,  and  herfelf  feems 
palling  to  that  awful  dilfolution,  whofe  ilTue  is  not  given 
hu:nan  fordiirht  to  lean.* 

D 

irt,  and  wivh  the  aul  of  which  the  European  nations  traverfe  the  globe, 
is  califd  h'acUc-y's  qiKidrart. 

*  In  a  la'er  ecruion  ot  the  Ahhe  Ravnnl's  work,  he  has  withdrawn 
Jiis  cenilire  from  iliat  part  ol  tlie  new  world  iiihahitcd  by  tlie  Fc- 
cicro  Americans  ;  hut  h;^s  left  it  Hill  on  the  other  purrs.  North- An^e- 
ric:i  h,!"-  ai^Ya^s  been  more  acctlhble  to  ftrangers  ilian  South.  If  he 
-Was  n^iitaken  then  as  to  the  former,  he  n^ay  he  To  as  to  the  latter. 
The  <;!iu)nierin2.s  which  reach  us  from  South- America  en;  ble  us  on- 


(     7''     ) 

Having  given  a  fKCtcli  cfour  minerals,  vegetables,  anJ 
quaiirupeds,  and  being  led  by  a  proud  theory  to  make  a 
comparifon  of  the  latter  with  thofe  of  Europe,  and  to  ex- 
tend it  to  the  man  of  Amcriea,  both  aboriginal  and  eu;i- 
grant,  I  will  proeeed  to  the  remaining  articles  compre- 
hended under  the  prefent  query. 

Between  ninjty  and  a  hundred  of  our  birds  have  been 
defcribed  by  Cateiby.  His  drawings  are  better  as  to  ivvm 
and  attitude,  than  colouring,  which  is  generally  too 
high.     They  are  the  following. 

K2 

iy  To  fee  that  its  inhabitants  are  held  unrler  the  accumulateil  prf  fllire 
or  fliivery,  faperdition  and  ignorance.  Whenever  tliey  (iiall  be  able 
to  rile  under  this  weight,  and  to  (Low  thtmlelves  to  ilie  relt  of  the 
■vvnrl  1,  they  will  probably  fliow  they  are  like  the  red  of  the  world. 
We  have  not  yet  fufhcient  evidence  that  there  are  more  lakes  and 
loas  in  ?outh  America  than  in  other  parts  ot  the  earth.  As  little  do 
we  know  what  would  be  their  operation  on  the  mind  of  man.  That 
country  has  been  viiited  by  Spaniards  and  Portiiguefe  chielly,  and 
aliiinlt  cxclulively.  Thefe,  going  from  a  country  of  tlie  old  world 
remarkably  dry  inits  foil  and  climate,  fancied  there  were  more  lakes 
and  fogs  in  South  America  tlianin  tiirope.  An  inhabitant  of  Ireland, 
Sweden  or  Kinland,  would  have  formed  the  contrary  opinion.  Had 
Soiuh  America  then  been  difcovered  and  fettled  by  a  people  from  a 
fenny  country,  It  would  probably  have  been  reprefenied  as  much  dri- 
er than  the  old  world.  A  patient  purfuit  of  facHis,  and  a  cautious  coni- 
binarion  and  con\parifon  of  them,  is  the  drudgery  to  which  man  is 
labjeded  by  his  Maker,  if  he  wifhes  to  attain  fure  knowledge. 


)• 


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Besides  these,  we  hdvc — 


The  Slifldrac'i,  or  caiiva'!  hack 
H!:.ck  hcul 

B.:IicO()r 

Spiij;    tail 

Diil.pper,  or  nonthkk 
Spoon  billnl  tliuk 
Waicr  witch 
\\'.irer-pMeafai)t 
Mow  liir<l 
l^lue  IVicr 
Water  wigtall 
\fl!(»vv  I«-oaeH  fnipe 
Scpiattinv  inipe 
J-ir.tll    plovi' 
\\'l»iniiiig  plover 
W'oodcoik 

Rfil    birn,    'vith    black  head, 
win<vs  and  tail. 


Tli<*  RovUon  crow.  Cnrvns  comix 
Craiir.      Anlea   Cnnadenlis 
HoulV  fA'allow.     lliruiido  rufti- 

ca 
Ground  I'wallow.     Hirundo  ri 

piria 
Grtatell  grey  en^Je 
b^oiallcr  turkev  buzzard,  wirh  a 

leathered  head 
CJreareil  owl,  or  n-olir  bauk 
Wet  hawk,  which  tceds  Hying 
K  a  veil 
Water  pi-licin  ofllic  ^!ifTi'^il1pi 

whod'  poiKli  holds  a  peck 
Swju 
l,ooi) 

Conrorant 
J^uck  and  Mallard 
Wid|>,con 

And  doubtlefs  many  others  which  have  not  yet  been 
dexribed  and  clalVed. 

To  this  catalogue  of  our  indigenous  animals,  I  will  add 
a  fhort  account  of  an  anomaly  of  nature,  taking  place 
fometirnes  in  the  race  of  negroes  brought  from  Africa, 
who,  though  black  themfelves,  have,  in  rare  inftances, 
white  children,  called  Albinos.  I  have  known  four  of 
thefe  myfelf,  and  have  faithful  accounts  of  three  others. 
The  circumftances  in  which  all  the  individuals  agree,  are 
thefe.  They  are  of  a  pallid  cadaverous  white,  untinged 
with  red,  without  a.iy  coloured  fpots  or  feams ;  their  hair 
of  the  fame  kind  of  white,  (hort,  coaife,  and  curled  as  is 
that  of  the  negro  ;  all  of  them  well  formed,  ftrong,  heal- 
thy, perfefl  in  their  fenfes,  except  that  of  fi;2;ht,  and  born 
of  parents  who  had  no  mixture  of  white  blood.  Three 
of  thefe  Albinos  were  fiders,  having  two  other  full  fifters, 
who  wTre  black.  The  youngefl  of  the  three  was  killed  by 
liQ;htning,  at  twelve  years  of  age.  The  cldeft  died  at  a- 
bout  27  years  of  age,  in  child-bed  with  her  fecond  child. 
The  middle  one  is  now  alive  in  health,  and  has  ilfue  as  the 
elded  had,  by  a  black  man,  which  ilfue  was  black.  They 
are  uncommonly  flirewd,  quick  in  their  apnrehcnfions  and 
in  reply.  Their  eyes  are  in  a  perpetual  tremulous  vibrati- 
on, very  weak  and  much  afieded  by  the   fun  ;  but  they 


fee  much  better  In  the  night  than  we  do.  They  iire  of  the 
property  of  colonel  Skipv.'ith,  of  Cumberland.  The  fourth 
is  a  negro  woman,  whofe  parents  came  from  Guinea,  and 
had  three  other  children,  who  were  of  their  own  colour. 
She  is  freckled,  her  eye-fight  fo  weak  that  fte  is  obliged  to 
wear  a  bonnet  in  the  fummer  ;  but  it  is  better  in  the  ni2:ht 
than  day.  She  had  an  Albino  child  by  a  black  man.  It 
died  at:  the  age  of  a  few  weeks.  Thefe  were  the  property 
of  colonel  Carter,  of  Albemarle.  A  fixth  indance  is  a 
woman  of  the  property  of  Mr.  Butler,  near  Peterfourgh. 
She  is  flout  and  robuif,  has  ilTue  a  daughter,  jet  black, 
by  a  black  man.  I  am  not  informed  as  to  her  eye-fight. 
"^rhe  ieventh  inRance  is  of  a  male  belonging  to  a  Mr.  Lee, 
of  Cumberland.  His  eyes  are  tremulous  and  weak.  He 
is  tall  Oi  ilature,  and  now  advanced  in  years.  Me  is  the 
only  male  of  the  Albinos  which  have  come  within  my  lu- 
formation.  Vi^hatever  be  the  caulc  of  the  difeafe  in  the 
fkin,  ci  in  its  colouring  matter,  which  produces  this 
change,  it  feems  more  incident  to  the  female  than  male 
fex.  To  thefe  I  may  add  the  mention  of  a  negro  man 
within  my  knowledge,  bo.n  black,  and  of  black  parents  ; 
on  whofe  chin,  when  a  boy,  a  white  fpot  appeared.  This 
contributed  to  increafe  till  he  became  a  man  by  which 
time  it  had  extended  over  his  chin,  lips,  one  cheek,  the 
under  jaw,  and  neck  en  that  fide.  It  is  of  the  yllbino 
white,  without  any  mixture  of  red,  and  has  for  feveral 
years  been  ftationary.  Heisrobuft  and  healthy,  and  the 
change  of  colour  was  not  accompanied  with  any  feniiblc 
difeafe,  either  general  or  topical. 

Of  our  fifli  and  infecls  there  has  been  nothing  like  a  full 
defcription  or  colle^lion.  More  of  them  are  defcribed  in 
Catefby  than  any  other  work.  Many  alfo  are  to  be  found 
in  Sir  Hans  Sloane's  Jamaica,  as  being  common  to  that 
and  this  country.  The  honey-bee  is  not  a  native  of  cur 
continent.  Marcgrave  indeed  mentions  a  fpecies  of  honey- 
bee in  Brafil.  But  this  has  no  fling,  and  is  therefore  dif- 
ferent from  the  one  we  have,  which  refembles  perfeclly 
that  of  Europe.  The  Indians  concur  with  us  in  the  tradi- 
tion that  it  was  brought  from  Europe  ;  but  when,  and 
by  whom,  we  know  not.  The  bees  have  generally  ex- 
tended themfelves  into  the  country,  a  little  in  advance  ct 
the  white  feltlers.     The  Indians  thereicre  call  them   the 


C     79     ) 

wliitt  inim's  uv,  and  confiJer  their  apprmich  3s  indicating 
the  approach  u:  tile  Ictticincnts  Oi  thj  \vhif*s.  A  qucllioii 
here  occurs,  how  i'ar  northwardly  have  th.-fc  infects  been 
found  ?  That  they  arc  unknown  in  l.apland,  I  infer  from 
ScheiFer's  information,  ihjt  the  Laphmdcrs  eat  the  pine- 
bark,  prepared  in  a  certain  way,  inllead  of  thole  thin^^s 
fweetened  with  fugar.  '  Hoc  comeduntpro  rebus  faccharo 
*  conditis.*  SchelF.  Lapp.  c.  18.  Certainly  if  they  hail 
honey,  it  would  be  a  better  fubftitute  for  fup^ar  than  any 
preparation  of  the  pine  bark.  Kalm  tells  us*  the  honey-bee 
cannot  live  through  the  winter  in  Canada.  'I'liey  furnifli 
then  an  additional  proof  of  the  remarkable  fad:  firlt  ob- 
ferved  by  the  Count  de  Builbn,  and  uhich  h?.s  thrown 
I'uch  a  blaze  of  light  on  the  field  of  natural  hiflory,  that 
no  animals  are  found  in  both  continents,  but  thofe  which 
are  able  to  bear  the  cold  of  thofe  regions  where  they  prob- 
ably join. 

*  I,  126. 


Sj/Eur  VII. 


A 


NOTICE    of   all  that  can  incrcafe  the  progrefs  of 
human  knoiijlccl^c  ? 

Under  the  latitude  of  this  query,  I  will  prefume  it  not 
improper  nor  unacceptable  to  furnilh  fome  data  for  efti- 
mating  the  climate  of  Virginia.  Journals  of  obfervations 
on  the  quantity  of  rain,  and  degree  of  heat,  being  lengthy, 
f.onfufed,  and  too  minute  to  produce  general  and  diitincl: 
ideas,  I  have  taken  five  years'  obfervations,  to  wit,  from 
1772  to  1777,  made  in  Williamfburgh  and  its  neighbour- 
hood, have  reduced  them  to  an  average  for  every  month 
in  the  year,  and  ffated  thofe  averages  in  the  following  ta- 
ble, adding  an  analytical  view  of  the  v;inds  during  the 
fame  period. 

L2 


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The  rains  of  every  month,  (as  of  January,  for  inflance) 
through  the  uhcle  period  cf  years,  were  added  feparatelv, 
and  on  average  drav^'n  from  them.  The  cooled  and  warm- 
efl  point  of  the  fame  day  in  each  year  of  the  period,  were 
added  feparately,  and  an  average  of  the  grtateft  cold  and 
grLLitell  heat  of  the  day,  was  formed.  From  the  aver- 
ages (.)f  every  day  in  the  month,  a  general  average  for  the 
whole  month  v.as  formed.  The  point  from  which  the 
wind  Llcv.  uac  clfc'rvcd  tv.oor  th:-^c    tiir.es  in  everv  dav. 


(  ^^i  ) 

Thefe  obfervatlons,  in  the  month  oT  January,  for  iuflancc, 
through  the  whole  period,  amouiitcJ  to  337.  At  73  of 
thcfe,  the  wind  was  from  tlie  north  ;  at  47  fnxii  the  North- 
eail,  kc.  So  that  it  will  be  eai'y  loleein  what  proportion 
each  wind  ufually  prevails  in  each  month  :  or,  taking  the 
whole  year,  the  total  of  ohfervations  through  the  whole 
period  haviiig  been  369S,  it  will  be  oblerved  that  611  ol 
them  were  from  the  Nopth,  ^538  from  the  North-eaft,  &c. 

Though  by  this  table  it  appears  we  have  on  an  average 
47  inches  of  rain  annually,  which  is  conhderably  ntore  than 
uiuallv  falls  in  Europe,  yet  from  the  information  1  have 
coilcilej,  I  fuppofe  we  have  a  much  greater  proportion 
of  funfhine  here  than  there.  Perhaps  it  will  be  found, 
there  are  twice  as  many  cloudy  days  in  the  middle  parts 
r-f  Europe,  ai  in  the  United  States  of  America.  1  men- 
tion the  middle  parts  of  Europe,  becaufe  my  infjrmatiori 
doe;-;  not  extend  to  its  Northern  or  Southern  parts. 

In  an  extenfive  country  it  will  of  courfe  be  expe'3;ed 
that  the  climate  is  not  the  fame  in  all  its  parrs.  It  is  re- 
markable, that,  proceeding  on  the  fame  parallel  of  latitude 
weflwardly,  the  climate  becomes  colder  in  like  manner 
as  when  you  proceed  northwardly.  This  continues  to  be 
the  cafe  till  you  attain  the  fummit  of  the  Alleghaney,  which 
is  the  higheft  land  between  the  ocean  and  the  Mi'lillippi. 
From  thence,  defcending  in  the  fame  latitude  to  the  Mil- 
fillippi,  the  change  reverfes  ;  and  if  we  may  believe  tarvel- 
lers,  it  becomes  warmer  there  than  it  is  in  the  fame  lati- 
tude on  the  fea  fide.  Their  tefhimony  is  ftrengthened  by 
the  vegetables  and  animals  which  fubfift  and  multiply 
there  naturally,  and  do  not  on  our  fea-coafl.  Thus  Catal- 
pas  grow  fpontaneoufly  on  the  MifliiTippi,as  far  as  the  lati- 
tude of  37*^,  and  reeds  as  far  as  38".  Perroquets  even  win- 
ter on  the  Scioto,  in  the  39th  degree  of  latitude.  In  the 
fummer  of  I  779,  when  the  thermometer  was  at  90^  at 
Monticello,  and  96  at  Williamiburgh,  it  was  110°  at  Kaf- 
kaikia.  Perhaps  the  mountain  which  overhangs  this  vil- 
lage on  the  north  fide,  may,  by  its  reflexion,  have  contri- 
buted fomewhat  to  produce  this  heat.  The  dilference  of 
temperature  of  the  air  at  the  feacoaft,  or  on  the  Chefa- 
peak  bay,  and  at  the  Alleghaney,  has  not  been  afcertain- 
ed  ;  but  cotemporary  ohfervations,  made  at  Williamf- 
burgh,  or  ir.  iis  neighbourhood,  and  at  Monticello,  which 


(     82     ) 

is  on  the  moft  eaflern  ridge  of  the  mountains,  called  the 
South  W eft,  where  they  areinterfedled  by  theRivanna,  have 
furniilied  a  ratio  by  v/hich  that  diti'erence  may  in  iQms  de- ' 
gree  be  conjetLured.  Thefe  obfervations  make  the  dif- 
ference between  WilliamfburT-h  and  the  neareftimountainf, 
atthe  pofition  hefore-mtntioned,  to  beon  ?n  average  0  i-8 
degrees  of  Farenheits's  thermometer.  Some  allowance, 
however,  is  to  be  made  for  the  diilerence  of  latitude  be- 
tween thefc  two  places,  the  latter  being  38^  8'^  17^^  which  is 
52' 22'^  North  of  the  former.  By  cotemporary  obferva- 
tions of  between  five  and  fix  weeks,  the  averaged  and  al- 
moft;  unvaried  difference  of  the  height  of  mercury  in  the 
barometer,  at  thofe  places, ^vas  .78401  an  inch,  the  atmof- 
phere  at  Monticello  being  fo  much  tlie  lightefl:,  that  is  to 
fay,  about  one-thirty-feventh  of  its  whole  weight.  It 
fliould  be  obferved,  however,  that  the  hill  of  Monticello 
is  of  500  feet  perpendicular  height  above  the  river  which 
wafhes  its  bafe.  T^h  pofition  being  nearly  central  be- 
tween our  northern  and  louthcrn  boundaries,  and  between 
the  bay  and  i\  lleghaney,  may  be  confidcred  as  furnifliing 
the  belt  averageof  the  temperature  of  our  chmate.  Wil- 
liamlburgh  is  much  too  near  the  South-eaftiern  corner  to 
give  a  fair  idea  of  our  general  temperature. 

But  a  more  remarkable  diilerence  is  in  the  winds  which 
prevail  in  the  different  parts  of  the  country.  The  follow- 
ing table  exhibits  a  comparative  viev/  of  the  winds  pre- 
vailing at  Williamfburgh,  and  at  Monticello.  It  is  form- 
ed by  reducing  nine  months  obfervations  at  Monticello 
to  four  principal  points,  to  wit,  theNorth-eaft,  South-eaft, 
South-weft,  and  North-well;  thefe  points  being  perpen- 
dicular to,  or  parallel  with  our  coaft,  mountains,  and  ri- 
vers :  and  by  reducing  in  like  manner,  an  equal  number 
of  obfervations,  to  vi^it,  421  from  the  preceding  table  of 
winds  at  Williamfburgh,  taking  them  proportionally  from 
every  point. 


!                                                     ! 

S.E. 

b.  Vv. 

101 
172 

rotai.j 

Wiiliamfbuigh!   127    61 

132 

421J 

?»]onticello        I   32 

91 

126 

421 

(     S3     ) 

By  ihi:^^  it  nir.Y  befceiuhat  thcSouih-weR  winJ  prevails 
equally  at  both  places;  that  theNorth-eiiH:  is, next  to  thi^', 
ii:e  priiicipiil  wind  touaixU  the  Tea  coaft,  and  thcNorth- 
wefl  is  the  prcdon)inant  wind  it  the  mountains.  The  dif- 
ference between  thcfe  two  winds  to  fenlation,  and  in  fact^ 
is  very  p,rcat.  The  North-eafl  is  loaded  with  vapour,  in- 
ionuicl),  that  the  r<dt-makers  have  found  that  their  cryf- 
tals  would  not  ihoot  while  that  blows  ;  it  brings  a  dillrcf- 
fing  chill,  and  is  heavy  and  opprefnve  to  the  ipirits  :  the 
Noith-welh  is  dry,  cooling,  elalUc  and  animating.  The 
Eaftern  and  South-eaftern  breezes  come  on  generally  in 
the  afternoon.  They  have  advanced  into  the  country  ve- 
ry fenlibly  within  thememory  of  people  now  living.  They 
formerly  did  not  penetrate  far  above  Williamfburgh.  They 
are  now  frequent  at  Richmond,  and  every  now  and  then 
reach  the  mountains.  They  dcpofit  moll  of  their  moii- 
ture  however  before  they  get  that  far.  As  the  lands  be- 
come more  cleared,  it  is  probable  they  will  extend  flill 
further  v.'cilward. 

Going  out  into  the  open  air  in  the  temperate,  and  warm 
months  ot  the  year,  we  often  meet  with  bodies  of  v/arni 
air,  which  palling  by  us  in  tw^o  or  three  feccnds,  do  not  af- 
ford time  to  the  mod  fenfible  thermometer  to  feize  their 
temperature,  judging  from  my  feelings  only,  I  think 
they  approach  theordinary  heat  of  the  human  body.  Some 
of  them  perhaps  go  a  little  beyond  it.  They  are  about  20 
<:.r  JO  ftet  diameter  horizontally.  Of  their  height  we  have 
no  experience,  but  probably  they  are  globular  volums 
wafted  or  rolled  along  with  the  wind.  But  whence  taken, 
v.liere  found,  or  how  generated  ?  They  are  not  to  be  a- 
Icribcd  to  volcanos,  becaufe  we  have  none.  They  do  not 
happen  in  the  winter  when  the  farmers  kindle  large  fires 
in  clearing  up  their  grounds.  They  are  not  confined  to 
the  fpring  feafon,  when  we  have  fires  which  traverfe 
whole  countries,  confuming  the  leaves  which  have  fallen 
from  the  trees.  And  they  are  too  frequent  and  general 
to  be  afcribed  co  accidental  fires.  I  am  perfuaded  their 
caufe  mud  be  fought  for  in  the  atmofphere  itfelf,  to  aid 
u.'^  in  which  I  know  but  of  thefe  condant  circumftances  ; 
a  dry  air  ;  a  temperature  as  warm  at  lead  as  that  of  the 
fpring    or    autumn  ;  and  a  moderate    current   of  wind. 


(     84     ) 

They  are  mofi:  frequent  about  fun-fet  :  rare  in  the  middle 
parts  of  the  day  ;  and  I  do  not  recoUcft  having  ever  met 
with  them  in  the  morning. 

The  variation  in  the  weight  of  our  atmofphere,  as  in- 
dicated by  the  barometer,  is  not  equal  to  two  inches  of 
mercury.  During  twelve  months  obfervation  at  Williamf- 
burgh,  the  extremes  were  29,  and  30.86  inches,  the  dif- 
ference being  1.86  of  an  inch  :  and  in  nine  months,  dur- 
ing which  the  height  of  the  mercury  was  noted  at  Monti- 
cello,  the  extremes  were  28  48  and  29.69  inches,  the  vari- 
ation being  1. 2 1  of  an  inch.  A  gentleman,  who  has  ob- 
ferved  his  barometer  many  years,  afiures  me  it  has  never 
varied  two  inches.  Cotemporary  obfervations,  made  at 
Monticello  and  Williamfburgh,  proved  the  variations  in 
the  weight  of  air  to  be  fimultaneous  and  correfponding  in 
thefe  two  places. 

Our  changes  from  heat  to  cold,  and  cold  to  heat,  are 
very  fudden  and  great.  The  mercury  in  Farenheit's 
thermometer  has  been  known  to  defcend  from  92°  to  47^ 
in  thirteen  hours. 

It  is  taken  for  granted,  that  the  preceedhig  table  of  a- 
verage  heat  will  not  give  afalfeidea  on  this  fubjed,  as  it 
propofes  to  ftate  only  the  ordinary  heat  and  cold  of  each 
monthjandnot  thofcwhichare  extraordinary.  At  Williamf- 
burgh  in  Auguft  1766,  the  mercury  in  Farenheit's  ther- 
mometer was  at  98°  correfponding  with  29  1-3  of  Reau- 
mur. At  the  fame  place  in  January  1780,  it  was  6°  cor- 
refponding with  II  1-2  below  2,  of  Reaumur.  I  believe* 
thefe  may  be  confidered  to  be  nearly  the  extremes  of 
heat  and  cold  in  that  part  of  the  country.  The  latter  may 
moft  certainly,  as  at  that  time.  York  river,  at  York  tov»'n, 
was  frozen  over,  fothat  people  walked  acrofs  it ;  a  cir-- 
cumflance  which  proves  it  to  have  been  colder  than  the 
winter  of  1740,  1741,  ufually  called  the  cold  winter, 
when  York  river  did  not  freeze  over  at  that  place.  In  the 
fame  feafon  of  1780,  Chefapeak  bay  was  folid,  irom  its 
head  to  the  mouth    of  Patowmac.     At  Annapolis,  where 


*  At  Paris,  in  175;;,  the  mercury  in  Reamniir's  tlicrnioincrrr  wns  at 
30  1-2  above  o,  and  in  1776,  it  was  at  16  below  o.  The  extremities 
of  heat  and  cold  theretore  at  Paris,  are  greater  than  alW'iiliainfburgh, 
which  is  thehottefl  part  ol  Viri^inia. 


(    ^s    ) 

ii  15  5  S:  1-4  miles  over  between  the  nearefl  points  of  Ian  J, 
the  ice  was  troiii  5  to  7  inches  thick  quite  acrols,  lb  that 
loaJed  carriages  went  over  on  it.  Thofe  our  extremes'  of 
heat  and  cold,  of  6"^  and  98'^  ^fUJ^  indeed  very  dillretlini^ 
to  us,  and  were  thought  to  put^e  extent  of  the  human 
conftitution  to  confidcrable  trial.  Yet  a  Siberian  would 
have  confidered  them  as  fcarcely  a  fenfibie  variation.  At 
Jennifeitz  in  that  country,  in  huitude  58°  27'  we  arc  told, 
that  the  cold  in  173'^  funk  the  mercury  by  Farenheit'"j 
fcale  to  126^  belov/  nothing;  and  the,  inhabitants  ol  the 
fame  country  ufe  ftove  rooms  two  or  three  times  a  week, 
in  which  they  flay  two  hours  at  a  time,  the  atmofpherc  of 
which  raifes  the  mercury  to  135°  above  nothing.  Late 
experience  iliew  that  the  human  body  will  exiSlin  rooms 
heated  to  140*^  of  Reaumur,  equal  to  347"^  of  Farenheit'.s, 
and  135'' above  boiling  water.  The  hotiell  point  of  tho 
24  hours  is  about  four  o'clock,  P.  M.  and  the  daun  of 
day  thecoldeft. 
The  accefs  of  froflin  autumn,  and  its  recefsinthe  fpring, 
do  not  feem  to  depend  merely  on  the  degree  of  cold  ;  much 
lefs  on  the  air's  being  at  the  freezing  point.  White  frofts* 
are  frequent  when  the  thermometer  is  at  47"  have  killed 
young  plants  of  Indian  corn  at  48°  and  have  been  knov.ri 
at  54°.  Black  froft,  and  even  ice,  have  been  produced  at 
38  &;  1-2°,  whichis6  &  1-2  degreesabove  the  freezingpoint. 
That  other  circumftances  mull  be  combined  with  the  cold 
to  produce  froft,  is  evident  from  this  alfo,  on  the  higher 
parts  of  mountains,  where  it  is  abfolutely  colder  than  in 
the  plains  on  which  they  (land,  frofls  do  not  appear  fo 
early  by  a  confiderable  fpace  of  time  in  autumn,  and  go  oft' 
fooner  in  the  fpring,  than  in  the  plains.  I  have  known 
frofts  fo  fevere  as  to  kill  the  hiccory  trees  round  about 
iVIonticello,  and  yet  not  injure  the  tender  fruit  bloflbm« 
then  in  bloom  on  the  top  and  higher  parts  of  the  moun- 
tain ;  and  in  the  courfe  of  40  years,  during  which  it  has 
been  fettled,  there  have  been  but  two  inftancesofa  ge- 
neral iofs  offruiconit;  while,  in  the  circunijacent  coun- 
try, the  Iruit  has  efcaped  but  twice  in  the  laft  feven  years. 
The  plants  ol  tobacco,  which  grow  from  the  roots  of  thofe 
which  have  been  cut  oft'  inrhefummer,  are  frequently 
green  here  at  Chriftmas.     This  privilege  againft  the  froil^ 

M 


(     86     ) 

is  undoubtedly  combined  with  the  want  of  dew  on  the 
niountains.  1  hat  the  dew  is  very  rare  on  thbir  higher 
parts,  I  may  fay  with  certainty,  from  12  years  obfervati- 
OH'-^,  having  fcarcely  e^^c^  during  that  time  feen  an  une- 
o.uivocal  proof  of  its  exiftence  on  them  at  ali  during 
fummer.  Severe  fro  lis  in  the  depth  of  v^inter  prove  that 
the  region  of  dews  extends  higher  in  that  leafon  than  the 
tops  of  the  mountains  :  but  certainly,  in  the  fummer 
feafon,  the  vapours,  by  the  time  they  attain  that  height, 
are  become  fo  atteruicited  as  not  to  fubiide  and  form  a  dew 
•when  the  fun  retires. 

Tlie  weavil  has  not  yet  afcended  the  high  moun- 
tains. 

A  more  fatisfaclory  eftimate  of  our  climate  to  fome, 
may  perhaps  be  formed,  by  noting  the  plants  which  grow 
here,  fubjecl  however  to  be  killed  by  our  fevered  colds, 
'ihefeare  the  iig,  pomegranate,  artichoke,  and  European 
walnut.  In  mild  winters,  lettuce  and  endive  require  no 
fi.elter  ;  but  generally  they  need  a  flight  covering.  I  do 
not  know  that  the  want  of  long  mofs,  reed,  myrtle,  fwamp 
laurel,  holly  and  cyprefs,  in  the  upper  country,  proceeds 
ironi  a  greater  degree  of  cold,  nor  that  they  v/ere  ever 
killed  Vvith  any  degree  of  cold  in  the  lower  country.  1  he 
aloe  lived  in  VVilliamiburgh,  in  the  open  air,  through  the 
fevere  winter  of   1779,  1780. 

A  change  in  our  climate,  however,  is  taking  place  very 
ftnfibly.  Both  heats  and  colds  are  become  utueh  more 
moderate  within  the  memory  even  of  the  middle  aged. — 
Snows  are  lefs  frequent  and  Icfs  df  ep.  They  do  not  often, 
lie,  belov/  the  mountains,  more  than  one,  two,  or  three 
days,  and  very  rarely  a  week.  They  are  remembered 
to  have  been  formerly  frequent,  deep,  and  of  long  conti- 
nuance. The  elderly  inform  me,  the  earth  uied  to  beco-- 
vered  with  fnow  about  3  months  in  every  year.  The  rivers 
which  then  felJom  failed  to  freeze  over  in  the  courfe  of 
the  wiiiter,  fcarcelv  ever  do  i'o  now.  Tl)is  change  has 
produced  an  unfortunate  ilucluation  between  heat  and 
coK':,  in  the  fpring  of  the  year,  which  is  very  fatal  to 
fruits.  From  the  year  1741  to  1769,  an  interval  of  twen- 
ty-fight years,  there  was  no  inflanceof  fruit  killed  by  the 
frolt  in  thi  neifj^hbourhood  of  Monticello.  An  intcnfe 
cold,  produced  by  conilant  fnows,  kept  the  buds  locked 


(    f;    ) 

up  till  the  fun  could  obtain,  in  the  Tpring  of  ilie  vcar,  fo 
fix'ed  an  afcendency  as  to  diirdve  thole  Inows,  and  j^rotec-t 
t!ic  buds,  duiin*:;  their  developcment,  from  evi'ry  danger 
oi  returning  cold.  The  accumulated  fnovv-.s  of  the  winter 
remaining  to  be  dilTolved  all  together  in  the  fpring,  pro- 
duced thofe  overflowings  of  our  rivers,  fo  Irequent  ih^n, 
and  fo  rare  now. 

Having  had  occafion  to  mention  the  particular  fituariMH 
pf  Monticello  for  other  purpofes,  1  will  jull  lake  notice, 
that  its  elevation  nllbrds  an  opportunity  of  feeing  a  plia:- 
nomenon  which  is  rare  at  land,  though  frequent  at  fea. — 
The  feamen   coll  it  looming.     Philofophy  is  as  yet  in  x\\^ 
rear  of  the  feamen,  for  fo  far  from  having  accounted  lor 
it,  file  has  not  given   it  a  name.     Its  principal  effect  is  to 
make  diflant  obje£ls  appear  larger,  in  oppofition  to  the  ge- 
nera! law  of  vifion,  by  which  they  are  diminilfed.    I  knew 
an  inftance  at  York-town,  from  whence  the  water  profj-jccl: 
eaftwardly  is  without  termination,  wherein   a  canoe  wiih 
three  men,  at  a  great  dillance  was  taken  for  a  (hip  with  its 
three  marts.  I  am  little  acquainted  with  the  ph?cnomenon 
as  it  (hews  itfelf  at  fea  ;  but  at  Monticello  it  is  familiar. — 
There  is  a  folitary  mountain  about  forty  miles  ojT  in  the 
South,  whofe  natural  Ihape,  as   prefented  to  view  there, 
is  a  regular  cone  ;  but  by  the  efl'efl  of  looming,  ic  fome- 
times  fubfides  almoft  totally  in  the  horizon  ;    fometimes 
it  rifes  more  acute  and  more  elevated  ;    fometimes  it    is 
hemifpherical ;   and  fometimes  its  fides  are  perpendicular, 
its  top  fiat,  and  as  broad  as  its  bafe.     In  fhoi  t  it  affumes 
at  times  the  mofl  whimfical  fhipes,  and  all  thefe  perhaps 
fuccefTively   in  the  fame  morning..     The   blue  ridg3   of 
mountains  comes  into  view,  in  the  north-eaft,  at    about 
I  GO  miles  diftance,  and  approaching  in  a  direct  line,  pall- 
cs  by  within  20  miles,  and  goes  olT  to  the  fouth-weft. — 
This  pha:nomenon  begins  to  ihew  itfelf  on  thefe  mountains 
at  about  fifty  miles  diflance  and  continues  beyond  that  as 
far  as  they  are  feen.  I  remark  no  particular  Itafe,  either 
in  the  weight,  moidure,  or  heat  of  the  atmofphere,  ne- 
ceflary  to  produce  this.    The  only  conflant  circumftances 
are  its  appearance  in  tl'e  morning  only,  and  on  objects  at 
leail  forty  or  fifty  miles  diftant   d.n  this  latter  circumltance, 
if  not  in  both,  it  differs  from  the  looming  on  the  water. 

Ml 


(     88     ) 

Refraction  will  not  account  for  the  inelamorphori?.  That 
only  chaiiges  the  proportions  of  length  and  breadth,  bafe 
and  ahitude,  preferving  the  general  outlines.  Thus  it 
may  make  a  circle  appear  elliptical,  raife  or  deprefs  a  cone, 
but  by  none  of  its  law?,  as  yet  developed,  will  it  make  a 
circle  appear  a  fquare,  or  a  cone  a  fphere. 


tlUERT  Vili: 

X.J' 

i    li  E  number  of  its  inhahiiants  ? 

The  following  table  ihows  the  number  of  per fons  im- 
ported for  the  eilablifliment  of  our    colony  in   its  infant 
ftate,  and  the  cenfus  of  inhabitants  at  different  periods, 
extracted  from  our  hidorians  and  public  records,  as  parti- 
cularly as  1  have  had  opportunities  and  ieifine  to  examine 
them.     Succcffive  lines  in  the  fame  year  fliow  fuccellive 
periods  of  time  in  that  year.     I  have  dated  the  cenfus  in 
two  diilerent  columns,  the  whole  inhabitants  having  been 
lometimes  numbered,  and   fometimes  the  tythes  only. — 
This  term,  with  us,  includes  the  free  males  above  fixteen 
years  of  age,  and  fiaves  above  that  age  of  both  fexes.      A. 
further  examination  of  our  records  would  render  this  hif- 
tory  of  our  population  much  more  fatisfaftory  and  perfect, 
by  furniflnng  a  greater  number  of  intermediate  terms. — 
Thofe,  however,  which  are  here  flated,  will  enable  us  to. 
calculate  with  a  connderable  degree  of  precihon,  the  rate 
at  which  we  have  increafed.     During  the  infancy  of  the 
colony,  while  numbers  were  fmall,  wars,  importations, 
and  other  accidental  circumftances  render  the  progrefilon 
flui^iuating  and  irregular.     By  the  year   1654,  however, 
it  becomes  tolerably  uniform,  importations   having  in  a 
great  medfure  ceafed  from  the  diflblution  of  the  company, 
and  the  inhabitants  become  too  numerous   to  be  fenfibly 
JiiTected  by  Indian  wars.  Beginning  at  that  period,  tliere- 


(     89     ) 


'■A 


4 


1 


YearsjScttlers  \\\\-  ICciifus  of  la-  .Ccnfus  ot 
I     portcJ.      I    hablfantj;.     [   Tytlics. 


IOC  7 


ICO 


I'ioS 


i6io 
I  'j  I  [ 

\h\  7 


i6iS 


1 6  1  9 


I  O  2  I 


7^) 


'50 


1  :.o 


:;  fh'ip    loads 


Fo 


2'JO 


i-i6 


6oo 


I  -,oo 


it)2: 


>-,'oo 


2ic^ 


162-^' 

-V  00 

- 

l6;5  2 



1                  2COO 

1^1 44 

1                   .pJi 

1645 

5^  CO 

165. 

70..  0 

1694 

^ioo 

I  7:0 

2  2,OOu 

174^ 

" 

8  2 .  1  CO 

l7>o 

lOO.CO 

1772 

(  c;.coo 

17^2 

1 

567,614 

nci- 


k 


5pr 


Sfe. 


•ft- 


& 


!fe 


ffe- 


(    9°    ) 

fore,  \yc  find  that  from  thence  to  th^  year  i  772,  our  tythes 
line,  incrcafed  from  7209  to  153,000.  The  whole  term 
bciijg  of  118  years,  yields  a  duphcation  once  in  every  27'^- 
Yt\irs.  I'he  intermediate  enumerations  taken  in  1700, 
1748,  and  1759,  furnifii  proofs  of  the  uniformity  of  this 
progrefiion.  Should  this  race  of  increafe  continue,  we 
iliall  have  between  Ihz  and  feven  millions  of  inhabitants 
within  ninety-iive  years.  If  we  fuppofeour  country  to  be 
bounded  at  ionie  future  day,  by  the  meridian  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Great  Kanhaway,  within  which  it  has  been  before 
conjectured,  are  64,46  i  fquare  miles,  there  will  then  be 
IOC  inhabitants  for  every  fquare  mile,  which  is  nearly  the 
(Late  of  population  in  the  Britiln  illands. 

Here  I  will  beg  leave  to  propofe  a  doubt.  The  prefent 
defireof  x\merlcais  to  produce  rapid  population  by  as  great 
importations  of  foreignerj  as  poilible.  But  is  this  founded 
in  good  policy  ?  The  advantage  propofed  is  the  multipli- 
cation of  numbers.  Now  let  us  fuppofe,  for  example  on- 
ly, that  in  this  flate,  we  could  double  our  numbers  in  one 
year  by  the  importation  of  loreigners  ;  and  this  is  a  great- 
er acceffion  than  the  moil  fj*nouine  advocate  for  emiffra- 
tion  has  a  light  to  expert.  Then  I  fay,  beginning  with  a 
double  ibock,  we  ihall  attain  any  given  degree  of  popula- 
tion only  27  ycaisand  three  months  focner  than  if  we  pro- 
ceed on  our  fingle  (lock.  If  we  propofe  four  millions  and 
:•  half  as  a  competent  population  for  this  Hate,  wefhould' 
be!  £^4  t  years  attaining  it,  could  we  at  once  double  our 
iiuiVibero  :  and  oij-  years,  if  v/e  rely  on  natural  propaga- 
tion, as  may  be  feen  by  the  foliovi.'ing  table. 


r787 

jiSoSi 

procepcliiu'5-  on  our 

i. 

5675614 

ProceedintJ    on  a 



1,135,228 

1,135,228 

2,270,456 

i835i 

.862- 
1— i 

2,270,456' 

4,540,912 

4,540,912 

In  tlie  fvrOi  column  are  dated  periods   of   27;  year?; 
in  'the  fecGiid   are  cur  nuv.iber^-,  at    each  period  as    they. 


I 


C     9'      ) 

Nvlil  be  If  we  proceed  en  our  aclual  flock  ;  nud  in  llie 
third  are  what  they  would  be,  at  the  lame  i)eri()ds,  wcrvi 
we  to  fet  out  from  the  double  of  our  prefent  itock.  I  havii 
taken  the  term  ot  four  millions  and  a  half  of  inhabitant! 
for  example's  fake  only.  Yet  1  am  perfuaded  it  is  a  great- 
er number  than  the  country  fpokcn  of,  cnnlidering  how 
much  inarrable  land  it  contains,  can  clothe  and  feed, 
without  a  material  chany;-e  in  the  quality  of  their  diet. 
But  are  there  no  incoaveniencics  to  be  thrown  i)«to  the 
fcale  ap^ainft  the  advantage  expeiSted  from  a  multiplication 
ot  numbers  by  the  importation  of  foreigners  ?  It  is  fi)i- 
the  happinefs  of  thofe  united  in  focicty  to  harmonize  a-; 
much  as  pofrible  in  matters  which  they  mult  of  necellity 
tranfact  together.  Civil  government  being  the  fole  ob- 
ject of  forming  focicties,  its  adminjdraiion  mult  be  con- 
duced by  common  confent.  Every  fpecies  of  government 
has  its  fpecitic  principles.  Ours  perhaps  are  more  pecu- 
liar than  thole  of  any  other  in  the  univerfe.  It  is  a  coni- 
pofition  of  the  freed  principles  of  tlie  Englifii  conflitution, 
with  others  derived  from  natural  right  and  natural  reafon. 
To  thefe  nothing  can  be  more  oppofed  than  the  maxims  of 
abfolute  monarchies.  Yet,  from  IV.ch,  we  are  to  expecb 
the  greatefl  number  of  em.igrants.  They  will  bring  with 
them  the  principles  of  the  governments  they  leave,  im- 
bibed in  their  early  youth  ;  or,  if  able  to  throw  ihtni  olF, 
it  will  be  in  exchange  for  an  unbounded  licentioufnefv, 
pafling,  as  is  ufual,  from  one  extreme  to  another.  It 
would  be  a  miracle  were  they  to  (top  precil'ely  at  the  point 
of  temperate  liberty.  Tiiefc  principles,  with  their  lan- 
guage, they  will  tranfmit  to  their  children.  In  propor- 
tion to  their  numbers,  they  will  fliare  with  us  the  legif- 
htion.  They  will  inf.  'e  into  it  their  fplrit,  warp  and  bias 
iis  directions,  and  render  it  a  heterogeneous,  incoherent, 
dillratled  mafs.  I  may  appeal  to  experience,  during  the 
prefent  conteit,  for  a  verification  of  thefe  conjectures.  Bur, 
it  they  be  not  certain  in  event,  are  they  not  poiuble,  arc 
they  not  probable  ?  Is  it  not  fafer  to  wait  with  patience 
27  years  and  three  months  longer,  for  the  attainment  of 
any  degree  of  population  delired  or  expected  ?  May  not 
our  government  be  more  homogeneous,  more  peaceable,- 
more  durable?  Suppofe  20  millions  ot  republican  Ameri- 
cans  thrown  all  of  a  fadden  into  France,  nhat  would  be  the 


(     92     ) 

corxdidon  of  that  kingdom  ?  If  it  would  be  more  turbu- 
lent, lefs  happy,  lefs  liroiig,  we  may  believe  that  the  addi- 
tion of  half  a  million  of  foreigners  to  our  piefent  num- 
bers would  produce  a  fimilar  etled:  here.  If  they  come  of 
themfelves,  they  are  entitled  to  all  the  rights  of  citizen- 
fnip  :  but  I  doubt  the  expediency  of  inviting  them  by  ex- 
traordinary encouragements.  I  mean  not  that  thefe  doubts 
iliould  be  extended  to  the  importation  of  ufeful  artificers. 
The  policy  of  that  meafure  depends  on  very  different  con- 
liderations.  Spare  no  expence  in  obtaining  them.  They 
will  after  a  vv'hile  go  to  the  plough  &  the  hoe  ;  but  in  the 
mean  time,  they  will  teach  us  fomething  we  do  not  knovv". 
It  is  not  [o  m  agriculture.  The  indifferent  Hate  of  that  a- 
|,  .mong  us  does  not  proceed  from  a  want  of  knowledge 
merely  ;  it  is  from  our  having  fuch  quantities  of  land  to 
wafle  as  we  pleaie.  In  Europe  the  objecl  is  to  make  the 
jnoll  of  their  land,  labour  being  abundant  ;  here  it  is  to 
make  the  moll  of  our  labour,  land  being  abundant. 

It  v/ill  be  proper  to  explain  how  the  numbers  for  the 
year  1782  have  been  obtained  ;  as  it  was  not  from  a  per- 
fect cenfus  of  the  inhabitants.  It  will  at  the  fame  time 
develope  the  proportion  between  the  free  inhabitants  and 
ilaves.  The  following  return  of  taxable  articles  for  that 
year  was  given  in. 

53,289  free  males  above' 2 1  years  of  age. 
211,698  Ilaves  of  all  ages  and  iexes.  ' 

23.766  not  dillinguilhed  in  the  returns,  but  faid  to  be 
tytheable  Ilaves. 
\95A39  ^'Orfes. 
609,734  cattle. 

5,126  wheels  of  riding-carriage?. 
191  taverns. 

There  were  no  returns  from  the  8  counties  of  Lincoln, 
Jefferfon,  Fayette,  Monongalia,  Yohogania,  Chio, 
Northampton,  and  York.  To  find  the  number  of  Haves 
which  iliould  have  been  returned  indead  of  the  23,766 
rytheables,  we  muil  mention  that  fome  obl'trvations  on 
a  former  cenlus  had  given  reafon  to  believe  that  the  num- 
bers above  and  below  16  years  of  age  were  equal.  '  The 
ilouble  of  this  number,  therefore,  to  wit,  47,532  muil: 
be  added  to  21 1,693,  vhich  will  give  us  259,230  Ilaves  of 
all  ages  and   iexes.     To  find  the  number  oi  free  inhabi- 


(     93     ) 

tants,  we  muft  repeat  die  oblervation,  that  thofj  above 
and  below  i6  are  nearly  equal.  But  as  the  number 
53,289  omits  the  males  below  16  and  21  we  muft  fupply 
them  from  conjecture.  On  a  former  experiment  it  liad 
appeared  that  about  one-third  of  oar  mihtia,  that  is,  of 
the  males  between  16  and  ^o,  were  unmarried.  Knowincr 
how  early  marriage  takes  place  here,  we  fliall  not  be  iar 
wrong  in  fuppofing  that  the  uninarried  part  of  our  miliiia 
arethofe  between  iC  and  21.  If  there  be  young  men  who 
do  not  marry  till  after  21,  there  are  many  who  marry 
before  that  age.  But  as  the  men  above  50  were 
not  included  in  the  militia,  we  willfuppofe  the  unuKirrlcd, 
or  thofe  between  16  and  21,  to  be  one-fourth  ot  the  whole 
number  above  16,  then  we  have  the  following  calculation  : 

53,289  free  males  above  2 1  years  of  age. 

17,763  free  males  between  16  and  21. 

71,052  free  males  under  16. 
142,104  free  females  of  all  ages. 

284,208  free  inhabitants  of  all  ages. 
259,230  Haves  of  all  ages-. 


543,438  inhabitants,  exclufive    of  the    3  counties  from 
which  were  no  returns.     In   thefe  8  counties  in  the  years 
1779  and  17805  were  3,161  militia.  Say  then, 
3,161  free  males  above  the  age  of  16. 
3,161  ditto  under  16. 


6,322  free  females. 


12,644  ^^cc  inhabitants  in  thefe  8  counties.  To  find 
the  number  of  Haves,  fay,  as  284,208  to  259,230,  fo  is 
12,644  to  I  Ii5j2.  Adding  the  third  of  thefe  numbers  to 
the  firll,  and  the  fourth  to  the  fecond,  we  have, 

296,852  free  inhabitants. 

270,762  flaves. 

567,614  inhabitants  of  every  age,  fex,  and  condition. 
But  296,852,  the  number  of  free  inhabitants,  are  to 
270,762,  the  number  of  flaves,  nearly  as  1  i  to  10.  Un- 
der the  mild  treatment  our  flaves  experience,  and  their 
wholefome,  though  coarfe,  food,  this  blot  in  our  country 
increafes  as  faff,  or  failer,  than  the   whites.     During  the 

N 


(94,) 

regal  government,  we  had  at  one  time  obtained  a  law, 
which  impofed  fuch  a  duty  on  the  importation  of  fiaves, 
as  amounted  nearly  to  a  prohibition,  when  one  inconfi- 
derate  aflembly,  placed  under  apecuharity  otcircumftance 
repealed  the  law.  This  repeal  met  a  joyful  fan dion  from 
thethen  fovereign,  and  no  devices,  no  expedients,  which 
could  ever  after  be  attempted  by  fubfequent  aflemblies, 
and  they  feldom  met  without  attempting  them,  could  fuc- 
ceed  in  getting  the  royal  affent  to  a  renewal  of  the  duty. 
In  the  very  firft  feffion  held  under  the  repubhcan  go- 
vernment, the  aflembly  palled  a  law  for  the  perpetual 
prohibition  of  the  importation  of  ilaves.  This  v/ill  in  fome 
meafure  flop  the  increafe  of  this  great  political  and  moral 
evil,  vrhiie  the  minds  of  our  citizens  n:iay  be  ripening  for 
a  complete  emancipation  of  human  nature. 


9UERr    IX.. 

I 

J^   II  E  yiumhcr  and  condit'iQn  of  the  v.iiliiia  and   regular 
troops.^  and  ibelr  pay  ? 

The  following  is  a  flate  of  the  militia  taken  from  returns 
of  i78o^nd  17SI5  except  in  thofe  counties  marked  with 
an  alteriiK,  the  returns  from  which  are  fomewhat  older. 

Every  able  bodied  freeman,  between  the  ages  of  16  and 
50  is  enrolled  in  the  militia.  Thofe  of  every  county  are 
formed  into  companies  ;  and  thefe  again  into  one  or  more 
battalions,  according  to  the  numbers  in  the  couRty.  They 
are  commanded  by  colonels,  and  other  fubordinate  offi- 
cers, as  in  the  regular  fervice.  In  every  county  is  a  coun- 
ty-lieutenant,  who  commands  the  whole  militia  of  his  coun- 
ty, but  ranks  cnly  as  a  colonel  in  the  field.  We  have  no 
general  oflicer  aKvays  exiiiing.  Thefe  are  appointed  oc- 
cafionally,  when  an  invafion  or  infurredion  happens,  and 
their  commi/Iion  determines  with  the  occalion.  The  go- 
vernor is  head  of  the  military,  as  well  as  civil  power.  Ihe 
law  requires  every  militia-man  to  provide  himfelf  with 
the  arms  ufual  in  the  regular  fervice.  But  this  injunfti- 
i^ii  was  always  indijTerently  complied  with,  and  the  arms 


(     95     ) 


Siiu.iiiun 

Counties. 

Militia"' 

V 

situation. 

CuLlIllitS. 

^^lIiti 

11 

Lincoln 

60O   '{ 

rt 

Grci  iifl'x  i'l'ic 

:co 

jeifcilon 

-.,  ,   ■ 

:-:       iDiinviddic 

■  "^^CJ 

?r 

Kayette 

irScrfic'ld 

''5  5 

y  s'S; 

Ohio 

„J      i.iuicc  George 

3'? 

Moiionwalia 

*iooo  V 

t^  c^h^TV 

:  ^'0 

Wafliington 

*S29  \ 
1071   V 

Snil^x 

»  -Qrj 

*-  <; 

Monigonicry 

1^  > 

Southampton 

874 

?: 

Grcenbiiar 

502  i 

Hie  of  \Vi«ht 

H'C:. 

-' 

ci 

(/) 

Nanfcmond 

'6.i4 

■      D 

i^ampfl.ire 

9-0  { 

0 

p 

Norfolk 

—  -T3 

Berkeley 
rVederick. 

She nan do 

*noo  X 
1143  I 

*()2S    V 

0 

hI,      I'rincefs  Anne 

■'  ^9  ^ 

4>     U 

0 

CO 

4J 

Henrico 

61  () 

Rockingham 

875  X 

— 

Hanover 

70A 

Augulta 

1575  t 

u 

-S 

\'cw  Kent 

*4'8 

?  ^ 

Rockbridge 

■''625    V 

^ 

t;i^  0 

Charlesciiy 

7?.h 

Botetourt 

*7CO  X 

c: 

Ij   0   c 

fames  city 

235 

V 

■^ 

\ViHiamfbur"'n 

I2V 

*-2  44 

Loudoun 

T746  5 

C 

York 

Faquier 

I078  t 

c 
« 

a 

Warwick 

*IOU 

Culpepper 

Spotl'ylvania 

Orange 

I513  I 

480    Q 

*6oo$ 

C9 

Elizabeth  city 

- 

1F2 

^     S 

Caroline 

80  c 

Louifa 

603 }, 

t- 
< 

0  c 

King  William 

4;6 

^ 

Goocliland 

*5SO  0 

c  n  vr.  jibing  (X  Queen 

500 

"73 

Fluvanna 

*296  V 

9  fcc^JEflex 

4^.3 

Albemarle 

S73  X 

c 

f  .5 

Middlefex 

*2I0 

C 

Aniherft 

Buckingham 

Bedford 

R96  h 

*625    X 

1  :;oo  X 

H 

^S 

Gloucerter 

850 

^00- 
bJ303 

i  1^ 

Fairfax 

652 

:ec-" 

Henry 

1004  0 

z 

PrinceWiliiam 

614 

U      »4 

Pittfvlvania 

*725  y 

0 

^^   . 

Sraflord 

*500 

1> 

ilaliFax 

*ir?9  X 

^  0  - 

King  George 

48? 

s 

Charlotte 

612  >^ 

Richmond 

412 

u 

i-'rince  Edward 

580  0 

\Veftmorel?nd 

544 

■" 

Cumberland 

40S  t 

Northumber'd 

630 

o 

P.nvh.atan 

??o  (j 

Lancaller 

302 

^ 

Amelia 

Lunenburg 

Mecklenburg 

*ii25  0 

677  X 

1 100   A 

C9 

1 H 

Accomac 
N'orthampton 

'12(8 

*430 

Srunlwick 

SS9  y 

-j^-;;  - 

■vIioIl-  Militia  of  the  State 

l49';7i 

they  had  have  been  fo  frequently  called  for  to  arm  the  r^!-. 
gulars,  that  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  country,  they  are  en- 
tirely difarmed.  In  the  middle  country  a  fourth  or  fifth 
part  of  them  may  have  fuch  firelocks  as  they  had  provid- 
ed to  deitroy  the  noxious  animals  which  intcft  their  farms : 

N2 


(     96     ) 

an  J  on  tie  weilern  fide  of  the  Blue  ridge  they  are  gene- 
rally cirmed  with  riflcs.  Thepay  ofour  rniliLia,as  wellas  of 
our  regulars,  is  that  of  the  continental  regulars.  Ihe 
condition  of  our  regulars,  of  vvhotovve  have  none  but  conti- 
nentals,  and  part  of  a  battalion^of  ftate  troops,  is  fo  con- 
flantly  on  the  change,  that  a  Hate  of  it  at  this  day  would 
not  be  its  (late  a  month  hence.  It  is  much  the  fame  with 
the  condition  of  the  other  contmental  troops  which  is  well 
enough  known. 


^U£Rr   X. 


3    HE  marine  ? 


Before  the  prefent  invafion  of  this  ftate  by  the  Britiih 
uiider  the  command  of  General  Phillips,  we  had  three  vef- 
iels  of  16  guns,  one  of  14,  five  fmall  gaiiies,  and  two  or 
three  armed  boats.  They  were  generally  fo  badly  manned 
us  feldom  to  be  in  condition  for  fervice.  Since  the  perfect 
poifcfiion  of  our  rivers  ajlumed  by  the  enemy,  I  believe 
we  are  left  with  a  fingle  armed  boat  only. 


^UEKT  XI. 

1l   DESCRIPTIO!^'  /  /&  Indians  ef.ablified  in  that 

"When  the  firfl  effeOual  fcttlement  of  cur  colony  was 
n:ade,  which  was  in  ^607,  the  country  from  the  lea-coalt 
to  the  mountains, and  from  Potowmac  to  tlie  moftfoutlicrn 
waters  of  James  river,  was  occupied  by  upwards  of  forty 
diiiersnt  tribes  of  Indians.  Of  thefe  the  Pcivbaiars,  the 
NIannahoacs,  and  Monacc:r.s,  were  the  molt  powcfrful. 
'J  hole  between  the  fea-coait  and  falls  of  the  rivers,  were 
in  amity  with  oiie  another,  and  attached  to  the  Foivhataiis 
:  s  their  Kiik  of  union.  I'hoie  between  the  falls  of  the  ri- 
vers and  ihe  iiiounLciins,  w'cTc  divided  into  two  confedera- 


NORTH. 


Betwren 

P^roiVMAC 

and 
Rapi'Ahannoc, 


Between 

Rappahannoc 

and 

York. 


M     A     N     A     H     O     A     C     S. 


P     O     W     H     A     T     A     N     S. 


T    R     I     D     K 


Whonkenties 

regHinaties 

Ontponics 

fauxitanians 

Haflinungaes 


Stegarakics 

Sliackakonies 

Manahoacs 


Country. 


Fauquier 

Culpepcr 

Orange 

Fauquier 

Culpeper 


Orange 
Spotfylvania 
Staftovd.    Spotfylvanif 


Chief    Town 


Warriors. 


1607 


1669^ 

S 


M     O     N     A     C     A     N     S. 


Between 

ToKK 

and 
Jambs. 


Mons 


Monaficcapanoes 


Between 

James 

and 

Cabolina. 


Monahaffanoes 

Maffinacacs 

Mohemenchocs 


Eastern 
Shore. 


James  R.above  the  falls 


Loulfa.     Fluvanna 


Bedford.  Buckingham 

Cumberland 

Powhatan 


Fork  of  James  R 


S  Tauxenents 

(J  Patowomekes 

J»  Guttittawomans 

S  Piffdfecs 

r  Onaumanients 

S  Rappahanocs 

Jj  Moraughtacunds 

S  Secacaonies 

I,  Wighcocomicoes 

h  Cuttatawomans 

S 

S 


0    U    N     T     R     Y. 


C    H     I     E     I'       T    0    W     N     S. 


Fairfax 

St.;trord.  King  George 

King  George 

King  Geo.  Richmond 

VVcltmoreland 

Riclimond  county 

Lancaller.  Richmond 

Nortliumberland 

Northumberland 

Lancaller 


^  NantaughtacundsEffex,  Caroline 
S  Mattapoments 
L  Pamunkies 
._S  Werowocomlcos 
^  Payankatonks 


Mattapony  river 
King  William 
Gloucelter 
Piankatank  river 


30  j^  Youghtanunds       Pamunkey  river 

Cliickahominy  river 


S  Chickahominies 
S  Powhatans 
^  Arrowhatocs 
S  Weanocs 
J*  Pafpaheghes 
S  ChiHclacs 
tj  Kccoughtans 
S 

s 

S  Appamattocs 
/  Quiocohanoes 
S  Warrafqueaks 
Jj  Nafamonds 
S  Chefapeaks 
S 

S  Accohanecs 
Ij  Accomacks 


Henrico 

Henrico 

Charles  city 

Charles  city.  James  city 

York 

Elizabeth  city 


About  General  Walhington's 
Patownac  creek 
About  Lamb  cretk 
Above  Leeds  town 
Numony  river 
Rappahanoc  creek 
Moratico  river 
Coan  River 
Wicotomico  river 
Gorotoman 


Port  tobacco  creek 

Romuncock 

About  Rofewell 

Turk's  Ferry.  Grimelby 


Orapaks 

Powhatan.  Mayo'a 

Arroiiatocs 

Weynoke 

Sandy  point 

Cliifkiac 

Rofcows 


Chefterfield 

Surry 

Ifle  of  Wight 

Manfamond 

Princefs  Anne 


jBermuda  hundred 
About  Upper  Chipoak 
jWairafqueoc 

About  the  mouth  of  Weft,  brand 
About  Lynhaven  river 


Accom.  Northampton 
Northampton 


Accohanoc  river 
About  Cheriton's 


Warriors. 


1607       166'^ 


50 
900 

100 

100 

80 

30 

|.'50 

30 


150 
30 

TOO 
40 
55 


60 
■250 
40 
30 
100 
40 
45 
20 


60 
25 


200 
100 


40 
80 


60 


30 
40 


70 


60 
20 
50 


60 
10 


15 
15 


50 
3  Pohi 


45 


f  By  the  name  of  Mat- 
I  chotics.  U  M.vcho- 
i  die.  Nanzaticos.  Nan- 
I  zatico.  Appamato.x 
(,  Matox. 

by  the  name  of  Totulkeys 


M^ottoways 

VIeherrics 

futelocs 


1669 


90 
50 


This  Tabic  to  be  placed  between  Pages  96  and  97. 


J 


SOUTH. 


(     97     ) 

cles  ;  the  tribes  inhabiting  the  head  waters  oT  Potowmar 
and  Rappahanoc  being  attached  to  the  Mannjhoacs  ;  and 
thofe  on  the  upper  parts  ot  James  river  to  the  Mutidcans. 
But  the  Moiuuans  and  their  friends  were  in  amity  with 
the  Mannahoacs  and  their  friends  and  waged  joint  and  per- 
petual war  againfl  the  Pozubatam.  We  are  told  that  the 
PTjjhatatu^  Mannahoacs,  and  Monacans,  fpoke  language 
{o  radically  differenr,  that  interpreters  were  neccliary  when 
they  tranfafted  bufinefs.  Hence  we  may  conjedure,  that 
this  was  not  the  cafe  between  all  the  tribes,  and  probably 
that  each  fpoke  the  language  of  the  nation  to  which  it 
was  attached  :  which  we  know  to  have  been  the  cafe  in 
many  pariicular  inllances.  Very  pcllibly  there  may  have 
be.n  anciently  three  dilferent  ftocks,  each  of  which  mul- 
tiplying in  a  long  courfe  cf  time,  had  feparated  into  fo  ma- 
ny little  focieties.  This  practice  refults  from  the  circum- 
flance  of  their  having  never  fubmitted  themfelves  to  any 
laws,  any  coercive  power,  any  fliadow  of  government. 
Their  only  controuls  are  their  manners,  and  that  moral 
fenfe  of  right  and  wrong,  which,  like  the  fcnfe  of  tafting 
and  feeling,  in  every  man  makes  a  part  of  his  nature.  Aw 
offence  againlt  thefe  is  puniihed  by  contempt,  by  exclufi- 
on  from  fociety,  or,  where  the  cafe  is  ferious,  as  that 
of  murder,  by  the  individuals  whom  it  concerns.  Im- 
perfedl  as  this  fpecies  of  coercion  may  feem,  crimes  are  ve- 
ry rare  among  them  :  infomuch  that  were  it  made  a  quef- 
tion,  whether  no  laws  as  among  the  favage  Americans,  or 
too  much  law,  as  among  the  civilized  Europeans,  fub- 
mits  man  to  the  greated  evil,  one  who  has  feen  both  con- 
ditions of  exiflence  would  pronounce  it  to  be  the  lad  : 
and  that  the  fneep  are  happier  of  themfelves,  than  under 
care  of  the  wolves.  It  will  be  faid,  that  great  focieties  can- 
not exift  without  government.  Thefavages  therefore  break 
them  into  fmall  ones. 

The  territories  of  the  Powhatan  confederacy,  fotith  of 
the  Potowmac,  comprehended  about  8coo  fquare  miles, 
30  tribes,  and  24C0  warriors.  Captain  Smith  tells  us, 
that  within  60  miles  of  James  town  were  5000  people,  of 
whom  1500  were  warriors.  From  this  v/e  find  the  propor- 
tion of  their  warriors  to  their  whole  inhabitants,  was  as  3 
to  10,  The  Powhatan  confederacy  then  would  confift  of 
about  80C0  inhabitants,  which  was  one  for  every  fquare 
mile,  being  about  the  twentieth  part  of  our  prefent  popu- 


(     9S     ) 

lation  In  the  fame  territory,  and  the  hundredth  of  that  of 
ihe  Britifli  iflands. 

Bcndes  thefe  were  the  Nottoivays,  Hving  on  Nottoway 
river,  the  Meherrhis  and  Tiitelocs  on  Meherrin  river, 
who  were  connected  with  the  Indians  of  CaroHna,  proba- 
bly with  the  Chov/anocs. 

The  preceding  table  contains  a  ftate.  of  thefe  feveral 
tribes,  according  to  their  confederacies  and  geographical 
fituation,  with  their  numbers  when  we  firfl  became  ac- 
quainted wirh  them,  where  thefe  numbers  are  known. — 
'rhe  numbers  of  fome  of  them  are  again  dated  as  they  were 
in  the  year  1 669,  when  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  alTem- 
bly  to  enumerate  them.  Probably  the  enumeration  is  im- 
perfed",  and  in  fome  meafurc  conjecliural,  and  that  a  fur- 
ther fearch  into  the  records  would  furniHi  many  more 
particulars.  What  would  be  tlie  melancholy  fequel  of 
their  hillory,  may  however,  be  argued  from  the  cenfus  of 
1669;  by  which  we  difcover  that  the  tribes  therein  enu- 
merated were  in  the  fpace  of  62  years,  reduced  to  about 
one-third  of  their  former  nunrbers.  Spirituous  liquors,  the 
fm all-pox,  war  and  an  abridgement  of  territory,  to  a  peo- 
ple who  lived  principally  on  the  fpontaneous  produdions  of 
nature  had,  committed  terrible  havoc  among  them,  which 
generation,  under  the  obftacles  oppofed  to  it  among  them, 
was  not  likely  to  make  good.  That  the  lands  of  this 
country  were  taken  from  them  by  conqueft,  is  not  fo  ge- 
neral a  truth  as  is  fuppofed.  I  lind  in  our  hiftorians  and 
records,  repeated  proofs  of  purchafe,  which  cover  a  con- 
liderable  part  of  the  lov/er  country ;  ?nd  many  more  would 
doubtlefs  be  found  on  further  iearch.  The  upper  country 
we  know  has  been  acquired  altogether  by  purchafes  made 
in  the  moil  unexceptionable  form. 

Weitward  of  all  thefe  tribes,  beyond  the  mountains, 
and  extending  to  the  great  lakes,  were  the  MaOawomees^ 
a  mofl  powerful  confederacy,  who  harralfed  unremitting- 
ly the  iowhatans  and  Manaboncs,  Thefe  were  probably 
the  anceflors  of  tribes  known  at  prefent  by  the  name  of 
the  Six  Niilions. 

Very  little  can  now  be  difcovered  of  the  fubfequent  hif- 
tory  of  thefe  tribes  feverally.  The  Cbickahominies  remov- 
ed about  the  year  1661,  to  Mattapony  river.  Their  chief, 
with  one  from  each  of  the  tribes  of  the  iL'amunkies  and 


(    99     ) 

Mattaponles,  attended  the  treaty  cfrMbnny  In  1685.  This 
fcems  to  have  been  the  lalt  chapter  in  their  hiftory.  1  hey 
retained  however,  their  feparatc  name  fo  late  as  1705,  and 
were  at  length  blended  with  the  Pamunkics  and  iVJattapo- 
nics,  and  exifl:  at  prefent  only  under  their  names.  There 
remain  of  the  MaUaponies  three  or  four  men  only,  and 
they  have  more  negro  than  Indian  blood  in  them.  They 
have  loft  their  language,  have  reduced  themfelvcs,  by  vo- 
luntary  fales,  to  about  fifty  acres  of  land,  which  lie  on  the 
river  of  their  ovv^n  name,  and  have  from  time  to  time, 
been  joining  the  Pamunkies,  from  whom  they  are  diftant 
but  ten  miles.  The  Famunkla  are  reduced  to  about  ten 
or  twelve  men,  tolerably  pure  from  mixture  with  other 
colours.  The  older  ones  among  them  preferve  their  lan- 
guage in  a  fmall  degree,  which  are  the  lalt  veltiges  on 
earth,  as  far  as  we  know  of  the  Powhatan  language.  They 
have  about  300  acres  of  very  fertile  land,  on  Panumkey 
river,  fo  encompafl'ed  by  water  that  a  gate  Ihuts  in  the 
whole.  Of  the  Ncttoways  not  a  male  is  lefr.  A  few  wo- 
men conflitute  the  remains  of  that  tribe.  They  are  feated 
on  the  Nottoway  river,  in  Southampton  county,  on  very 
fertile  lands.  At  a  very  early  period  certain  lands  were 
marked  out  and  appropriated  to  thefe  tribes,  and  were 
kept  from  encroachment  by  the  authority  of  the  laws. — «■ 
They  have  ufually  had  truftecs  appointed,  v.hofe  duty  was 
to  watch  over  their  intereds,  and  guard  them  from  infult 
and  injury. 

Ihe  Monacam  and  their  fiicnds,  better  known  latterly 
by  the  name  oiTufairoras^  were  probably  conne61:ed  with 
the  MafTawomees,  cr  Five  Nations.  For  though  we  are* 
told  their  languages  were  fo  different  that  the  intervention 
of  interpreters  v;as  ncceffary  between  them  ;  yet  do  we 
alfof  learn  that  the  Erigas,  a  nation  formerly  inhabitinrj 
on  the  Ohio,  were  of  the  fame  original  ftock  with  the  P'ive 
Nations,  and  that  they  partook  alfo  of  the  Tufcarora  lan- 
guage. Their  dialefts  might  by  long  feparation,  have 
becom.e  fo  unlike  as  to  be  unintelligible  to  one  another. — 
We  know  that  in  «7i2,  the  Five  Nations  leceived  ihfj 
Tufcaroras  into  their  confederacy,  and  made  them  the 
Sixth  Nation.  They  received  the  Mcherrins  and  Tuteloes 
alfo  into  thtir  protcdicn  :  and  it  is  mofl  prcbiwle,  that 

*  Smith.  -{•  Evan:. 


(       100       ) 

the  remains  of  many  other  of  the  tribes,  of  whom  we  find 
no  particular  account,  retired  weflwardly  in  hke  manner, 
and  were  incorporated  with  one  or  other  of  the  wcftern 
tribes.  (^5] 

I  know  of  no  fuch  thing  exifting  as  an  Indian  monument: 
for  I  would  not  honour  with  that  name  arrow  points,  flone 
hatchets,  (lone  pipes,  and  half- fhapen  images.  Of  labour 
on  the  large  fcale,  I  think  there  is  no  remain  as  refpe^la- 
ble  as  would  be  a  common  ditch  for  the  draining  of  lands : 
nnlefs  indeed  it  would  be  the  Barrows,  of  which  many  are 
to  be  found  all  over  this  country.  Thefe  are  of  diiferent 
fizes,  fome  of  them  conftruded  of  earth,  and  fome  of 
loofe  ftones.  That  they  were  repofitories  of  the  dead, 
has  been  obvious  to  all :  but  on  what  particular  occafion 
conftrufted,  was  a  matter  of  doubt.  Some  of  them  have 
thought  they  covered  the  bones  of  thofe  who  have  fjUen 
in  battles  fought  on  the  fpot  of  interment.  Some  afcribed 
them  to  the  cuftom,  faid  to  prevail  among  the  Indians,  of 
collefting  at  certain  periods  the  bones  of  all  their  dead, 
wherefoever  depofited  at  the  time  of  death.  Others  again 
fuppofed  them  the  general  fepulchre  for  towns,  conjeftur- 
ed  to  have  been  on  or  near  thefe  grounds  ;  and  this  opini- 
on was  fupported  by  the  quality  of  the  lands  in  which  they 
are  found,  ('thofe  conflructed  of  earth  being  generally  in 
the  foftefl  and  moft  fertile  meadow-grounds  on  river  fides) 
and  by  a  tradition,  faid  to  be  handed  down  from  the  ab- 
original Indians,  that  when  they  fettled  in  a  town,  the 
firit  perfon  who  died  was  placed  ereft,  and  earth  put  about 
him,  fo  as  to  cover  and  fupport  him ;  that  when  another 
died,  a  narrow  pafTage  was  dug  to  the  firft,  the  fecond 
reclined  againft  him,  and  the  cover  of  earth  replaced,  and 
fo  on.  There  being  one  of  thefe  in  my  neighbourhood,  I 
wiffied  to  fatisfy  myfelf  whether  any,  and  which  of  thefe' 
opinions  were  jufl.  For  this  purpofe  I  determined  to  open 
and  examine  it  thoroughly.  It  was  fituated  on  the  low 
grounds  of  the  Rivanna,  about  two  miles  nbove  its  prin- 
ciple fork,  andoppolite  to  fome  hills,  on  which  had  been 
an  Indian  town,  it  was  of  a  fpheroidical  form,  of  about 
forty  ftet  diameter  at  the  bale,  and  hsd  been  of  about 
twelve  feet  altitude,  though  now  reduced  by  the  plough 
to  feven  and  a  half,  having  been  under  cultivation  about 
a  dozen  vears.  Before  this  it  was  covered  with  trees  of 
twelve  inches  diameter,  and  round  the  bafe  was  an  exca- 


vailon  of  five  Let  depth  and  wiJili,  fror.!  whence  the  e nth 
had  been  taken  of  which  the  hillock  was  formed.    I   hric 
dufi;  fuperficially  in  leveral  parts  oi  it,  and  caniij  to  coll'jc- 
tions  of  human  bones  at  ditScrent  dcpih.s,  from  C\x  inch-.-s 
to  three  feet  below  the  furface.     Thefe  were  lying  in  the 
utmoil:  confufion,  fome  vertical,  fc'>me  oblique,  iome  ho- 
rizontal, and  dire»^led  to  every  point  of  the  compafs-,  en- 
tangled and  held  together  in  cluUeis  by  the  earth.     Bones 
of  the  mod  diifant  parts  were  found  together,  as,  f(^r  in- 
ftance,  the  fmall  bones  oi  the  foot  in  the  hollow  of  a 
fcull,   many  fculls  would  fomctimes  be  in  contad,  lyintr 
on  the  face,  on  the  fide,  on  the  back,  top  or  bott(3<n,  lo 
as,  on  the   whole,  to  give  the  idea  of  bones  emptied  pro- 
mifcuoufly  from  a  bag  or  bafket,  and  covered  over  with 
earthj  without  any  attention  to  their  ofdcr.     The  bones 
of  which  the  greatcit  numbers  remained,  were  fculls,  jaw- 
bones, teeth,   the    bones  of  the  arms,  thighs,  leg:>,  icet, 
and  hands.     A  few  ribs  remained,  fome  vertebra;  of  the 
neck  and  fpine,  without  their  procefits,  and  one  inftance 
only  of  the*  bone  which  ferves  as  a  bafe  to  the  vertebral 
column.     The  fculls  were  (o  render,  that  they  generally 
fell  to  pieces  on   being  touched.     The  other  bones  were 
llronger.     There  were  fome  teeth  which  were  judged  to 
be  Imaller  than  thofe  of  an  adult  ;   a   fcull    which  on  a 
flight  view,  appeared  to  be  that  of  an  infant,  but  it  fell  Vo 
pieces  oh  being  taken  out,  fo  as  to  prevent  fatisfaclory  ex- 
amination; a  rib,  and  a  fragment  of  the  under  jav/  of  a  per- 
fon  about  half  grown  ;  another  rib  of  an  infant ;  and  part 
of  the  jaw  of  a  child,  which  had  not  cut  its  teeth.  This 
laft   furnifhing    the  moft  decifivc  proof  of  the  burial  of 
children  here,  I  was  particular  in  my  attention  to  it.      Ic 
was    part    of  the   li-iht  half    of    the    under    jaw.     The 
proccifes,    by    which    it    was    articulated   to    '.he    tem- 
poral  bones,  were  entire,  and    the  bone  itfelf    firm    to 
where  it  had  been  broken  otf,  which,  as  nearly  as  1  could 
judge,  was   about   the  place  of  the  eye-tooth.     Its  upper 
edge,  wherein  would  have  been  the   ibckets  of  the  teeth, 
was  perfectly  fmooth.     Meafuring  it  with  that  of  an  adult, 
by  placing  their  hinder  procelics  together,  its  broken  end 
extended  to  the  penultiiivate  grinder  of  the  adult.     This 

O 

Tilt  oj  fiCrum. 


(        I02       ) 

bone  was  white,  all  the  others  of  a  fan'd  colour.  The 
bones  of  infants  being  foft,  they  probably  decay  fooner, 
which  might  be  the  caufe  fo  few  were  found  here.  I  pro- 
ceeded then  to  make  a  perpendicularcut  through  the  body 
of  the  barrow,  that  I  might  examine  its  internal  ftru6lure. 
I'his  palfed  about  three  feet  from  its  center,  was  opened 
to  (he  former  furface  of  the  earth,  and  was  wide  enough 
for  a  man  to  walk  through  and  examine  its  fides.  At  the 
bottom,  that  is,  on  the  level  of  the  circumjacent  plain,  I 
found  bones  ;-  above  thefe  a  few  ftones,  brought  from  a 
clili'  a  quarter  of  a  mile  oil',  and  from  the  river  one-eight 
of  a  mile  off;  then  a  large  interval  of  earth,  then  a  ftratum 
of  bones,  and  fo  on.  At  one  end  of  the  fedtion  were  four 
flrata  of  bones  plainly  diftinguifhable  ;  at  the  other,  three  ; 
the  Itraia  in  one  part  not  ranging  with  thofe  in  another. 
1"he  bones  neareft  the  furface  were  Icaft  decayed.  No 
holes  were  difcovered  in  any  of  them,  as  if  made  withbul- 
lets,  arrows,  or  other  weapons.  I  conjeftured  that  in  this 
barrow  might  have  been  a  thoufand  {keletons.  Every 
one  will  readily  feize  the  circumflances  above  related, 
which  militate  againfl:  the  opinion,  that  it  covered  the 
bones  only  of  perfons  fallen  in  battle  ;  and  againfl  the 
tradition  alfo,  which  would  make  it  the  common  fe- 
pulchre  of  a  town,  in  which  the  bodies  were  placed  up- 
right, and  touching  each  other.  Appearances  certainly 
indicate  that  it  has  derived  both  origin  and  growth  from 
the  accuilomary  coliedion  of  bones,  and  depofition  of  them 
together  ;  that  the  firft  coUeftion  had  been  depofited  on 
the  common  furface  ot  the  earth,  a  few  ftones  put  over  it, 
and  then  a  covering  of  earth,  that  the  fecond  had  been, 
laid  on  this,  had  covered  more  or  lefs  of  it  in  proportion 
to  the  number  of  bone?,,  and  was  then  alfo  covered  with 
earth  ;  and  fo  on.  The  following  are  the  particular  cir- 
cumitances  which  give  it  this  afped.  i.  The  number  of 
bones.  2.  Their  confufed  pofition.  3.  Their  being 
in  different  (Irata.  4  The  ftrata  in  one  part  having  no 
correfpondence  with  thofe  in  another.  5.  The  different 
(tates  of  decay  in  thefe  ftrata,  which  feem  to  indicate  a 
difference  in  the  time  of  inhumation.  6^  The  exiftence 
of  infant  bones  among  them. 

But  on  whatever  occafion  they   may   have  been  made, 
they  arc  of  confiderable  notoriety  among  the  Indians;  for 


(  103  ; 

a  party  pafTing,  about  thirty  years  ago,  through  the  part  of 
the  country  where  this  barrow  is,  went  through  the  woods 
diredlly  to  it,  without  any  inflruclions  or  enqulrv,  ami 
having  ft  aid  about  it  fonie  time,  with  expreflions  wliich 
were  conftrued  to  be  thofe  of  forrow,  they  returned  to  the 
high  road,  which  they  had  left  about  half  a  dozen  miles 
to  pay  this  vifit,  and  purfued  their  journey.  There  is 
another  barrow  much  refembling  this,  in  the  low  grounds 
of  the  fouth  branch  of  Shenandoah  where  it  is  croif-'d  by 
the  road  leading  from  the  Rocknfiigap  to  Stauntc-n.  Both 
of  thefe  have  within  thefe  dozen  years,  been  cleared  of 
their  trees  and  put  under  cultivation,  are  much  reduced 
in  their  height,  and  fpread  in  width,  by  the  plough,  and 
will  probably  difappear  in  time.  There  is  another  on  a 
hill  in  the  Blue  ridge  of  mountains,  a  fewmiles  north  of 
Wood's  gap,  which  is  made  up  offmall  flones  thrown  to- 
gether. This  has  been  opened  and  found  to  contain  hu- 
man bones,  as  the  others  do.  Thereare  alfo  many  others 
in  other  parts  of  the  country. 

Great  quedion  has  arifen  from  whence  came  thofe  a- 
boriginals  of  America  ?  Difcovcries,  long  ago  made,  were 
fufficient  to  fliow  that  a  palfage  from  Europe  to  America 
was  always  pradicable,  even  to  the  imperfe6i:  navigation  of 
ancient  times.  Ingoing  from  Norway  to  Iceland,  from 
Iceland  to  Groenland,  from  Groenland  to  Labrador,  the 
firfl  trajeft  is  the  widell:  :  and  this  having  been  praclifed 
from  the  earliefl  times  of  which  we  have  any  account  of 
that  part  of  the  earth,  it  is  not  difficult  tofuppofe  that  the 
fubfequent  trajefts  may  have  been  fometimcs  paifed.  A- 
gain,  the  late  difcoveries  of  Captain  Cook,  coafting  from 
Kamfchatka  to  Caiifornia,  have  proved  that  if  the  two 
continents  of  Afia  and  America  be  feparated  at  all,  it  is 
only  by  a  narrow  freight.  So  that  from  this  fide  alfo,  in- 
habitants may  have  pafled  into  America  :  and  the  refem- 
blance  between  thelndians  of  America  and  the  eaflern  in- 
habitants of  Afia,  would  induce  us  to  conjefture,  that  the 
former  are  the  defcendants  of  the  latter,  or  the  latter  of 
the  former  :  excepting  indeed  the  ii,fkimaux,  who,  from 
the  fame  circumftance  of  refemblance,  and  from  indtntity 
of  language,  mull  be  derived  from  the  Groenlanders,  and 
thefe  probably  from  fome  of  the  northern  pares  of  the  old 

O2 


(      104     ) 

cont'ncnt.  A  knowledge  of  iheir  feveral  hnguageswould 
be  the  mod  certain  evidence  of  their  derivation  which 
cou'd  be  produced.  In  fad,  it  is  the  belt  proof  of  the 
i.fEnity  of  narions  which  ever  can  be  referred  to.  How 
niany  ages  have  elapfed  fince  the  Enghfh,  the  Dutch,  the 
Germans,  the  Swifs,  the  Norwegians,  Danes  and  Swedes 
have  fcparated  from  their  common  flock  ?  Yet  how  ma- 
ny more  niuii  elapfe  before  the  proofs  of  their  common  o- 
rigin,  which  exiftin  their  feveral  languages, will  difappear  ? 
]t  is  to  be  lamented  then,  very  much  to  be  lamented, 
that  we  have  fuffered  fo  nrany  of  the  Indian  tribes  already 
to  extinguirn,  without  our  having  previoufly  colleded  and 
depofited  in  the  records  of  literature,  the  general  ru- 
diments at  leail  of  the  languages  they  fpoke.  Were  vo- 
cabularies formed  of  all  the  languages  fpoken  in  North 
and  South  America,  preferving  their  appellations  of  the 
moil  common  cbjeds  in  nature,  of  thole  which  mud  be 
prefent  to  every  nation  barbarous  or  civihzed,  with  the 
infledions  of  their  nouns  and  verbs,  their  principles  of 
regimen  and  concord,  and  thefe  depofited  in  all  the  pub- 
lic libraries,  it  would  furnifli  opportunities  to  thofe  ikil- 
]ed  in  the  languages  of  the  old  world  to  compare  them 
with  thefe,  now,  or  at  any  future  time,  and  hence  to  con- 
flrucl  the  beil  evidence  of  the  derivation  of  this  part  of 
the  human  race. 

But  imperiedas  is  our  knowledge  of  the  tongues  fpokeri 
in  America,  It  fuffices  to  difcover  the  following  remarkable 
fad'.  A^rranging  them  undtr  the  radical  ones  to  which  they 
may  be  palpably  traced;  and  doing  the  fame  by  thofeof  the 
icd  men  of  Afia,  there  will  be  found  probably  twenty  in 
A  merica.  tor  one  in  Afia,or  thofe  nidical  Linguages,  fo  call- 
ed, becauie,  if  they  were  ever  the  fame  ihey  have  loft  all 
rcfeml>tcUice  to  one  another.  A  feparation  into  dialeds 
may  be  the  \vork  of  a  few  cges  only,  but  lor  tvio  dialeds 
to  recede  from  one  another  till  they  have  loll  all  veftiges 
of  their  comnron  origin,  muil  require  animmcnfe  courfe  of 
time;  perhaps  not  Itfs  tlian  n'lany  people  give  to  the  age 
of  the  earth.  A  greater  number  of  thofe  radical  changes 
of  language  having  taken  place  among  the  red  men  of  A- 
n- erica  proves  ihem  of  greater  antiquity  than  thofe  of  Afia. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  ftate  the  nations  and  numbers  of 
the  Aborigines  v^hich    ilill  exilt  in  a  refpedable  and  inde- 


(      I05      ) 

peiulent  form.  And  ;is  their  undefined  boundaries  would 
render  it  difficult  tolpecily  thole  only  which  may  be  with- 
in any  certain  limits,  and  it  may  not  be  unacceptable  to 
prefcnt  a  more  general  view  pt  them,  I  will  reduce  with- 
in tlie  form  of  a  catalogue  all  thofe  within,  and  circumjacent 
:.),  the  United  States,  whofe  names  and  numbers  have 
come  to  my  notice.  Thefe  are  taken  from  four  different 
liila,  the  lirll  of  which  was  given  in  the  year  1759  to  ge- 
neral Stanwix:  by  George  Croghan,  deputy  agent  for  Indi- 
an affairs  under  Sir  William  Johnfon  j  the  fecond  was 
drawn  up  by  a  Frenchtrader  of  confiderable  note,  refident 
among  the  Indians  many  years,  and  annexed  to  colonel 
]5ouquet's  printed  account  of  his  expedition  in  1764.  The 
third  was  made  out  by  captain  Hutchins,  who  vifited  molt 
of  the  tribes,  by  order,  for  the  purpofe  of  learning  their 
numbers  in  1768.  And  the  fourth  by  John  Dodge,  an 
Indian  trader,  In  1779,  except  the  numbers  marked*^ 
which  are  from  other  information. 

TRIBES. 


(     io6    ) 


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O  o  (5  6  <  u  ^  <  u  z  <:  =5 


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(     ic8     ) 


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(     I09     ) 


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u 


(     no     ) 

The  following  Tribes  are  alfo  mentioned  r 

T  /,03  C  From   the  mouth -of  the  Ohu-? 

'  (_    to  the  month  of  tlie  Wabafh, 

v,T  .•  „^«  C  On  the  Miniffippi  below    the 

<[  ^  '  I  c-hakies. 

Oufafoys        p  C  On  White-creek,  a  branch  of 

iGianilTucC  4CC0  ^  the  Miffifljpp!. 

j^    [Linvv'uys,      J  1000  On  the  Mlflillippi. 

fLes  Piians,  700  Near  Piians  Bay. 

.•^    I  P'olle  Avoine  350  Near  Puans  Bay. 

«    i  Ounnakina,  300  "^ 

g-  .  Ciiicka'iedbu,  f;50  QConje<fli:rec]  to  be  Tribes 


fq 


Machecous,  Soo  C  of  the  Greeks. 

l^Souikilas,  200 


s 


f  C  North\Te{l  of  L.   Michigan, 

I  Mineamis,  2000         <     to   the  heads  of  MifUffippr, 

t*  j  /    and  up  to  Lake  Superior. 

-:=       Piavikillias,      p 

n    •  Mafcoutins,     C  800          5  G"   ^nd   near  the   Wabafii 

i^Vermillions,  ^  (1      towards  the  Illinois. 

But  apprehending  thefe  might  be  diflerent  appellations 
for  fome  of  the  tribes  already  enumerated,  I  have  not  in- 
ferted  them  in  the  table,  but  ftate  them  feparately  as  wor- 
thy of  further  inquiry.  The  variations  obfervable  in  num- 
bering the  fame  tribe  may  fometimes  be  afcribed  to  im- 
perfect information,  and  fometimes  to  a  greater  or  lefs 
comprehenfion  of  fettlements  under  the  fame  name.  (7) 


A. 


^ERT    XII. 

NOTICE  of  ihi  counties,    cities,   toiL'nJlyips^  and 
njillagcs  ? 

The  counties  have  been  enumerated  under  Qjiiery  IX. 
They  are  74  in  number,  of  very  unequal  fize  and  popu- 
lation. Of  thefc  35  are  on  the  tidewaters,  or  in  that  pa- 
rallel ;  23  are  in  the  midlands,  between  the  tide  waters  and 
Blue  ridge  of  mountains  ;  8  between  the  Blue  ridge  and 
Alleghaney  j  and  8  weftward  pf  the  Alleghaney. 


(     HI     ) 

The  (late,  by  another  divifion,  is  formed  Into  parillic?, 
many  of  which  are  conimcnfiirate  with  the  counties  :  bnc 
fonictimes  a  county  comprehends  nnre  than  one  parilh, 
and  fometimes  a  parilh  more  than  one  county.  This  di- 
^  illon  had  relation  to  the  religion  of  the  ftate,  a  parfon 
oi  the  Anglican  church,  with  a  fixed  Hilary,  having  been 
heretofore  efhiblilhed  in  each  parifli.  The  care  of  the  poor 
was  another  object:  of  the  parochial  divifion. 

We  have  no  tovvnfiiips.  Our  country  being  much  in- 
tcrfected  with  navigable  waters,  and  trade  brought  gene- 
rally to  our  doors,  indead  of  our  being  obliged  to  go  in 
queit  of  it,  has  probably  been  one  of  the  caufes  why  we 
have  no  towns  ofany  confequence.  Williamiburgh,  which 
till  the  year  1780,  was  the  feat  ot  our  government,  never 
contained  above  iSco  inhabitants  ;  and  Norfolk  the  molt 
populous  town  we  ever  had,  contained  but  6000  Our 
Towns,  but  more  properly  our  villages  or  hamlets,  are 
;is  follows. 

On  James  river  and  its  waters,  Norfolk,  Portfmouth, 
Hampton,  Suffolk,  Smithfield,  Williamfburgh,  Petcrf- 
btirgh,  Richmond  the  feat  of  our  government,  Manchef- 
tcr,  Charlottefville,  New-London. 

(^n  2  'ork  river  and  its  waters,  York,  Newcaflle,  Hanovet . 
On  Rappabannoc-i  Urbanna,  Portroyal,  Frederickiburgh, 
Falmouth. 

On  Poiozumac   and  its   waters,  Dumfries,  Colchefler, 
Alexandria,   \V  inchefter,  Staunton, 
On   Ohio  louifville. 

There  are  other  places  at  which,  like  fome  of  the  fore- 
going, the  laii's  have  faid  there  fhall  be  towns  ;  but 
I^  at  lire  has  faid  there  fhall  not,  and  they  remain  unworthy 
of  enumeration-  Nor/elk  will  probably  be  the  emporium 
ior  all  the  trade  of  the  Chefapeak  bay  and  its  waters;  and 
a  canal  of  8  or  10  miles  will  bring  to  it  all  that  of  Albemarle 
found  and  it*  waters.  Secondary  to  this  place,  are  the 
towns  at  the  head  of  the  tidewaters,  to  wit,  Pctcrfourgh 
on  Appomattox.  Richmond  on  James  river.  Newcaille 
on  Yojk  river.  Alexandria  on  Potowmac,  and  Baltimore 
on  Pa-tapfco.  From  thefe  the  diltribution  will  be  to  fubor- 
dinatefituations  in  the  country.  Accidental  circumftanccs 
kowevermav  controul  the  indications  of  nature^  and  in  no 

P2 


(    112    ) 

mdances  do  they  do  it  more  frequently  than  in  the  rife 
and  fall  of  towns. 


^ERT  XIII. 


J_    H  E  covJlitutiQU  of  the  Jlate^  and  lis  fever al  charters. 

Queen  Elizabeth  by  her  letters-patent,  bearing  date 
March  25,  1584,  licenfed  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  to  fearch  for 
remote  heathen  lands,  not  inhabited  by  Chriftian  people, 
and  granted  to  him,  in  fee  fmiple,  all  the  foil  within  200 
leagues  of  the  places  where  his  people  Ihould,  within  6 
years  make  their  dwellings  or  abidings  ;  refervingonly  to 
herfelf  and  her  facceifors,  their  allegiance  and  one-fifth 
part  of  all  the  gold  and  filver  ore  they  fliould  obtain. 
Sir  Walter  immediately  fent  out  two  iliips  which  vifited 
Wococon  ifland  in  North-CaroHna,  and  the  next  year  dif- 
patchedfevenwith  107  men, who  fettled  in  Roanokeifland, 
about  latitude  31^^  50'.  Here  Okilko,  king  of  the  Weopo- 
meiocs,  in  a  full  council  of  his  people  is  faid  to  have  ac- 
knowledged himfelf  the  homager  of  the  Queen  of  England, 
and,  after  her,  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh.  A  fupply  of  50  men 
were  fent  in  1586,  and  150  in  1587.  With  thefe  laft.  Sir 
Walter  fent  a  governor,  appointed  him  12  afhdants,  gave 
them  a  charter  of  incorporation,  and  inflru>^ed  them  to 
fettle  on  Chefapeak  bay.  They  landed  however  at  Ha- 
torafk.  In  1588,  when  a  fleet  was  ready  to  lail  with  a 
new  fupply  of  colonics  and  necelfarics,  ihcy  were  de- 
tained by  the  Queen  to  afiifl  againll:  the  Spanifh  armada, 
kiir  Walter  having  now  expended  4O5OO0I.  in  thefc  enter- 
prifes,  obilruclcd  occafionally  by  the  crown  without  a  fnil- 
iing  of  aid  from  it,  was  under  a  necefiity  of  engaging  o- 
thers  to  adventure  ihc:ir  money.  He  therefore,  by  deed 
bearing  date  the  7th  of  March  1589,  by  the  name  of  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  Chief  Governor  of  AlTamacomoc,  (pro- 
bably A  comae,)  alias  Wingadacoia  alias  Virginia,  granted 
10  Thomas  Smith  and  others,  in  confideration  of  their  ad- 


(     03     ) 

venturing  certain  funis  of  money,  liberty  of  tratle 
to  his  new  country,  free  from  all  cuftonis  ;niLl  taxes  for 
fcven  years,  excepting  the  fifth  part  of  the  gold  and  filver 
ore  to  be  obtained  ;  and  Ripulated  with  them,  and  the  o- 
ther  alliltants,  then  in  Virginia,  that  he  would  confirm 
the  deed  of  incorporation  ivhich  he  had  given  in  1587, 
with  all  the  prero,;atives,  jurifdiclions,  royalti-^s  and  pri- 
vileges granted  to  him  by  the  ()^:een.  Sir  \Valter,  at 
dilTerent  times,  fcnt  five  other  adventurers  hither,  the  lalt 
of  which  was  in  i6c2  :  for  in  1603  he  was  attained  and 
put  into  clofe  imprifonment,  which  put  an  end  to  his  cares 
over  his  infant  colony.  What  wu,s  the  particular  fate  of 
thecolonifls  he  had  before  fen t  and  LateJ,-  has  never  been 
known  :  whether  they  wercmurdertd,  orincorporatcd  with 
the  favages. 

Some  gentlemen  and  merchants,  fuppofing  that  by  the 
attainder  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  the  grant  to  him  was  for- 
feited, not  enquiring   over-carefully  whether  the  fentence 
of  an  Englifh  court  could  affeCl  lands  not  within  the  jurif- 
diclion  of  that  court,  petitioned  king  Jamts  for  a  nev/  grant 
of  Virginia  to  them.     He  accordingly   executed  a  giant 
to   Sir  Thomas  Gates  and   others  bearing  date  the  9th  of 
March  1607,  under  v^^hich  in  the  fame  year  a  fettlement 
was  effected  at  James-town  and  ever  after  maintained.  Of 
this  grant  however  no  particular  notice  need  be  taken,  as 
it  was  fuperfeded  by    letters-patent  of  the  fame  king,  of 
Mzy  23,  1609  to  the  Earl  of  Salifoury  and  others,  incor- 
porating them,  by  the  name  of  '  the  Treafurer  and  Com- 
*  pany  of  adventurers  and  planters  of  the  City  of  London 
'  for  the  firft  colony  in  Virgin!?,*  granting  to  them  and 
their  fuccelTors  all  the  lands  in  Virginia  from  Point  Com- 
fort along  the  fea-coafl   to    the  northward  200  miles  and 
from  the  fame  point  along  the  fea-coafl;  to  the  fouthward 
200  miles,  and  all  the  fpace  from  this  precinft  on  the  fea- 
coafl:   up  into   the  land,  weft  and  north-weft,  from  fea  to 
fea,  and  the  ifiands  within    one  hundred  miles  of  it,  with 
all   the    commodities,  jurifdiclions,  royalties,   privileges, 
franchlfes  and  pre-eminencies  within  the  fame,  and  thereto 
and  thereabouts,  by  fea  and   land,  appertaining   in  as  am- 
pie  manner  as  had  before  been  granted  to  any  adventurer  : 
to  be  held  of  the  king  and  his  faccelfors,  in  common  fp^- 
cage,  yielding  one-fifth  part  of  the  gold  and  filver  ore  to  [^^ 


i^      114     ) 

therein  founu,  for  all  manner  oF  fcrvices  ;  eflabliiliing  a 
council  in  iiiigland  for  the  dire£l:ion  of  the  entcrprife,  the 
iiiembtis  ol  which  were  to  be  chofen  and  difplaced  by 
the  voice  of  the  maj  )rity  of  the  company  and  adventurers-, 
and  were  to  have  the  nomination  and  revocation  of  go- 
vernors, oflicers,  and  miniilers,  which  by  them  fliould  be 
ihought  needful  for  the  colony,  the  pov/er  of  eftablilh- 
ing  laws  and  forms  of  government  and  magiflracy,  obli- 
gatory not  only  vvithin  the  colony,  but  alfo  on  the  feiis  in 
going  and  coming  to  and  from  it  ;  authorifing  them  to 
carry  thither  any  perfons  who  flrould  confcnt  to  go,  free- 
ing them  for  ever  from  all  taxer,  and  impofitions  on  any 
goods  or  merchandife  on  importations  into  the  colony,  or 
exportation  out  of.  .,  except  the  five  psr  cent,  due  for 
cuilom  on  all  goods  imported  into  the  I3ritifii  dominions, 
according  to  the  ancient  trade  of  merchaFits  ;  w  hich  five 
per  cent,  only  being  paid  they  might,  within  13  months 
re-export  the  fame  goods  into  foreign  parts,  without  any 
cufiom,  tax,  or  other  duty,  to  the  king  or  any  of  his  ofH- 
ters  or  deputies  ;  v/ith  pow-ers  of  waging  war  againfb 
chofe  who  fhould  annoy  them  ;  giving  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  colony  all  the  rights  of  natural  fubjedts,  as  if  born 
and  abiding  in  England  ;  and  declaring  that  thefe  letters 
(liould  be  conftrued,  in  all  doubtful  parts,  in  fuch  manner 
as  fhould  be  molt  fr.v  the  benefit  of  grantees. 

Afterwards  on  the  12th  of  March  16  {2,  by  other  let- 
ters-patent, the  king  ad  Jed  to  his  former  grants,  all  iflands 
in  any  part  of  the  ocean  between  the  30th  and  41ft  de- 
grees of  latitude,  and  v/ithin  300  leagues  cf  any  of  the- 
p uis  before  granted  to  the  treafurer  and  company,  not 
being  poflelied  cr  inhabited  by  any  other  Chriftian  prince 
or  Hale,  nor  within  the  limits  of  tlie  northern  colony. 

Jn  purfuance  of  the  authorities  given  to  the  company  by 
thefe  charters,  and  more  efpecially  of  that  part  in 
the  charter  of  iCoiy  which  authorifed  them  to  eflablifh  a 
form  of  government,  they  on  the  24th  of  July  1621,  by 
charter  under  th.eir  ccMnmon  feal,  declared  that  from 
thence-forward  there  fliould  be  two  lupreme  councils  in 
Virginia,  the  one  to  be  called  the  council  of  ftate,  to  be 
placed  and  difplaced  by  the  treafurer,  council  in  Englimd, 
iind  company,  from  time  to  time,  whofe  ofiice  was  to  be 
lj:ar  of  afljQing  iw.d  :/JviIing  tlie  governor  j  the  other  to 


C     ''5     ) 

be  called  the  general  ani-nibly  to  be  convened  by  tlic  go- 
vernor once  yearly  or  ottener,  which  was  to  confiil  of  the 
council  of  Itate,  and  two  biirgeflcs  out  of  every  town, 
hundred,  or  plantation,  to  be  refpeclively  chcicn  by  the 
inhabitants.  In  this  all  matters  were  to  i)c  decided  by  the 
greater  part  of  the  votes  preftnt;  reiervinc;  to  (he  p:(*iver- 
nor  a  negative  voice;  and  they  were  to  have  power  tv> 
treat,  confult,  and  conclude  all  emergent  occafions  con- 
cerning the  public  weal,  and  to  make  laws  for  the  behooi" 
and  government  of  the  colony,  imitating  and  following 
the  laws  and  policy  of  England  as  nearly  as  might  be  : 
providing  that  thefe  laws  Ihould  have  no  force  till  ratified 
ina  general  quarter  court  of  thecompanyin  linghmd  antl 
returned  under  their  common  feat,  and  declaring  that,  af- 
ter the  government  of  the  colony  flKuild  be  wrJl  framed 
and  fettled,  no  orders  of  the  council  in  Engl;indfihould 
bind  the  colony  unlefs  raiified  in  the  faid  general  alTem- 
bly.  The  king  and  company  quarrelled,  and  by  a  mix- 
ture of  law  and  force,  the  latter  were  oufled  of  all  their 
rights,  without  retribution,  after  having  expended 
ioo,oool.  in  cfl:a!')liflilng  the  colony,  without  the  Imallen; 
aid  from  government.  King  James  fufpended  their  pow- 
er by  proclamation  of  July  15.  1624,  and  Charles  I.  look 
the  government  into  his  own  hands.  Both  fides  had  their 
partilans  in  the  colony  ;  but  in  truth  the  people  of  th^- 
colony  in  general  thought  themfelves  little  concerned  in 
the  difpute.  There  being  three  parties  interefied  in  thefe 
feveral  charters,  what  palfed  between  the  f.rfl:  -dud  fecond 
it  was  thought  could  not  affect  the  third.  If  the  kmg 
feized  on  the  pov/srs  of  the  company,  they  only'palfed  into  o- 
ther  hands,  without  increafe  or  diminution,  while  the 
rights  of  the  people  remained  as  they  were.  But  they  did 
not  remain  fo  long.  The  northern  parts  of  their  coun- 
try were  granted  away  to  the  lords  Baltimore  and  Fairfax, 
the  firfl:  of  thefe  obtained  alfo  the  rights  of  feparate  jvi' 
rifdi6tion  and  government.  And  in  16^0  the  parliament, 
confidering  itfelf  as  fhanding  in  the  place  of  their  dipofed 
king,  and  as  having  fucceeded  to  all  his  powers,  without: 
as  well  as  within  the  realm,  began  to  affume  a  right  over 
the  colonics,  palling  an  acL  for  inhibiting  their  trade  with 
foreign  nations.  This  iuccfllon  to  the  exercife  o[  kingly  au- 
.fhority  gave  the  firft:  colour  for  parliamentary  interference 


(     i>6     ) 

with  the  colonies,  and  produced  that  fatal  precedent 
which  they  continued  to  follow  after  they  had  retired,  in 
other  refpecls,  within  their  proper  functions.  W  hen  this 
colony,  therefore,  which  i'lill  maintained  its  cppofition  to 
Cromwell  and  the  parliament,  was  induced  in  1651  to 
lay  down  their  arms,  they  previoufly  ft  cured  their  moft 
eiTenaal  rights,  by  a  folemn  convention,  which  having 
never  feen  in  print,  I  will  here  infert  literally  from  the  re- 
cords. 

'  ARTICLES  agreed  on  and  concluded  at  James  Cittle 
In  Virginia  for  the  furrendering  and  fettling  of  that  plan- 
tation under  the  obedience  &  government  of  the  common 
wealth  of  England  by  the  Commifiioners  of  the  Council 
of  ftate  by  authoritie  of  the  parHamt.  of  England  &  by 
the  Grand  afiembly  of  the  Governour,  Councill  &  Bur- 
geifes  of  that  countrey. 

*  Firft  it  is  agreed  and  confted  that  the  plantation  of  Vir- 
ginia, and  all  the  inhabitants  thereof  iball  be  and  remain 
in  due  obedience  and  fubjedlion  to  the  Conion  wealth  of 
England,  according  to  the  laws  there  eftablilhed,  and 
that  this  fubmifTion  and  fubfcription  bee  acknowledged 
a  voluntary  aft  not  forced  nor  conftrained  by  a  conquell 
upon  the  countrey,  and  they  Ihall  have  and  enjoy  fuch 
freedoms  and  priviledges  as  belong  to  the  free  borne  peo- 

•^ple  of  England,  and  that  the  former  government  by  the 
Commiilions  and  Inflruclions  be  void  and  null. 

*  2ly.  Secondly  that  the  Grand  afiembly  as  formerly 
{hall  convene  &  tranfacl  the  affairs  of  Virginia  wherein 
nothing  is  to  be  afted  or  done  contrarie  to  the  govern^ 
ment  of  the  Comon  wealth  of  England  Si  the  lawes  there 
eftabliihed. 

'  3ly,  That  there  fiiall  be  a  full  &  totall  remiffion  and 
indempnitie  of  all  atfs,  words,  or  writeings  done  or  fpo- 
ken  againlt  the  parliament  of  England  in  relation  to  the 
fame. 

'  4ly,  That  Virginia  fhall  have  &  enjoy  the  antlent 
bounds  and  Lymitts  granted  by  the  charters  of  the  for- 
mer kings,  and  that  we  Ihall  feek  a  new  charter  from  the 
parliament  to  that  purpofe  againil  any  that  have  intrencht 
upon  the  rights  thereof. 

'  5ly.  That  all  the  pattcnts  of  land  granted  under  the 
colony  feal  by  any  of  the  precedent  governours  iliall  be 


(  ^1/  .) 

and    remaine    in     their     full     force    nnJ     flrenn^tli.— » 

»  61y,  That  the  priviledge  of  Iiavciiii;;  illitie  acres  of  hind 
for  every  pcrfou  tranfported  in  that  eollonie  (ball  conti^ 
nue  as  formerly  granted. 

'  yly,  That  tHe  people  ol:  Virginia  have  free  trade  as  tha 
people  of  England  do  enjoy  to  all  places  and  with  all 
nations  according  to  the  laws  of  that  common  ivcalth, 
and  that  Virginia  fliall  enjoy  all  priviledges  equall  with 
any  Englilli  plantations  in  America. 

'  Sly,  That  Virginia  fhall  be  free  from  all  taxcF,  cuf- 
toms  *?c  impofitions  whatfoever,  and  none  to  be  impofed 
on  them  without  confent  of  the  Grand  affembly,  And 
foe  that  neither  ffortes  nor  caftles  bee  erected  or  garrifong 
maintained  without  their  confent. 

'  9ly,  That  noc  charge  fliall  be  required  from  this  coun- 
try in  refpc6l  of  this  prefent  flleet. 

'  Tolv,  That  for  the  future  fettlement  of  the  countrey 
in  their  due  obedience,  the  Engagement  fhall  be  tendrcd 
to  all  the  inhabitants  according  to  act  of  parliament  made 
to  that  purpofe,  that  all  perfons  who  fiiall  refufe  to  fub- 
fcribe  the  faid  engagement,  fhall  have  a  yeare's  time  if 
they  pleafe  to  remove  themfelves  ;?c  their  eftates  out  of 
Virgina,  and  in  the  mean  time  during  the  faid  yeare  to 
have  equall  juftice  as  formerly. 

'  I  ily.  That  the  ufe  of  the  booke  of  common  prayer 
fliall  be  permitted  for  one  yeare  enfueinge  with  refer- 
rence  to  the  confent  of  the  major  part  of  the  parifiies, 
provided  that  thofe  which  relate  to  kingfliipp  or  that 
government  be  not  ufed  publiquely,  and  the  continuance 
of  minifters  in  their  places,  they  not  mirdemcaning  them- 
felves, and  the  payment  of  their  accuflomed  dues  and 
agreements  made  with  them  refpeftively  fhall  be  left  as 
they  now  ftand  during  this  enfueing  yeare. 

'  i2ly.  That  no  man's  cattell  ihall  be  queftioned  as  thq 
companies  unlcfs  fuch  as  have  been  entrulled  with  thein 
or  have  difpofed  of  them  without  order. 

*  i3ly,  That  all  ammunition,  powder  &  amies,  other 
than  for  private  ufe,  flrall  be  delivered  up,  feeuritie  bcinj 
given  to  make  f^tisfaction  for  it. 


T^ 


(  .iis    ) 


*  1417^  That  all  jToods  allreaclie  brought  hither  by   the- 

*  Diiich  or  others  u'hich  are  now  on  ihoar  fliatl  be  free  from 
'  furorlzall. 

ijly,  I'hat  the  quirtrents  granted  unto  us  by  the  late 
^  kinge  for  feaven  yeares  bee  confirmed. 

'  i61y,  That  the  commifiioners  for  the  parhament  fub- 
'  fcribeing  thefe  articles  engage  themfelves  &  the  honour 

*  of  parliament  for  the  full  performance  thereof:  and  that 
'  the  preftnt  governour  k  the  councill  &  the  burgefles  do 

*  likewife  fiibfcribe  &  engage  the  whole  collony  on  their 
'  parts. 

Rich.   Bennett. Seale, 

Wm.  Claiborne. -Seale. 

Ebmond  Curtis. Seale. 

'  Theife  articles  were  figned  St  fealed  by  the  Commilli- 
'  oners  of  the  Councill  of  (tate  for  the  Commonwealth  of 
'  England  the  twelveth  day  of  March  1651.* 

Then  follow  the  articles  (lipulated  by  the  governor  and 
council,  which  relate  merely  to  their  own  perfons  and  pro- 
perty, and  then  the  enfuing  inflrument  : 

'  An  a6l  of  indempnitie  made  att  the  furrender  of  the 
'  countrcy. 

'  Whereas  by  the  authoritie  of  the  parliament  wee  the 
'  commiiiioners  appointed  by  the  councill  of  ftate  authori- 
'  zed  thereto  having  brought  a  ileete  ^  force  before  James 
'  cittie  in  Virginia  to  reduce  that  collonie  under  the  obe. 
'  dience  of  the  commonwealth  of  England,  6c  findeing 
'  force  raifed  by  ihe  Governour  and  countrey  to  make  op- 
'  pofition  againlf  the  faid  ffleet  whereby  aifured  danger  ap- 
'  pearinge  of  the  ruine  and  deltrudion  of  the  plantation 
'  for  prevention  whereof  the  Burgefles  of  all  the  feverall 
'  plantations  being  called  to  advife  k  alii  if  therein,  uppon 
'  long-  and  ferious  debate,  and  in  fad  contemplation  of  the 
'  great  miferies  k  certaine  deftruClion  which  were  foe 
'  neerelv  hovering  over  the  whole  countrey  ;  Wee  the 
'  laid  C^ommiilicners  have  thought  fitt  ^  condefcended  and 
'  granted  to  figne  &  confirme  under  our  hands,  feales  bz 
'  by  our  oath,  Articles  bearinge  date  with  theife  prefents,, 
'  and  do  further  declare  that  by  the  aufhoritie  of  the  paili- 

*  anient  and  commonwealth  of  England  derived  unto  us 

*  their  ccmmiffioners,  that  according  to  the  articles  in  ge- 


(     ^9     ) 

*  nerall  wee  have  granteJ  anacl  ofiadempnitic  and  oMivi- 

*  oil  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  coloney  from  all  words, 
'  a<!:tions,  or  writings  that  have  been  fpokcri  aded  or  Vvritt 

*  againll  the  parlianient  or  ccinmouwcalth  of  England  or 

*  any  other  perion  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  this 

*  daye.     And  this  wee  have  done  that  all  the  inhabitants  of 

*  the  collonie  may  live  quietly  and  fecurely  under  the  com- 

*  monwcalth  of  hngland.      And  wee  do  promife  that   the 

*  parliament  and  commonwealth  of  England  fhall  confirm 
'  and  make  good  all  thofc  tranfa<SlioRS  of  ours,  Wittncs 
'  our  hands  AC  feales  this  12th  of  March  1651.  Richard 
'Bennett — ftale.  Wm.  Ciaiborn — feale.     ]•> dm.  Curtis — 

*  feale.' 

Tlie  colony  fuppofed,  that,  by  this  folcmn  convention, 
entered  into  with  arms  In  their  hands,  they  had  fecured  the 
ancient  limits*  of  their  country,  its  free  trade,!  its  exemp- 
tioii  from  taxatIoii|  but  by  their  own  affembly,  and  exclu- 
iioii  of  military  force§  from  among  them.  Yet  in  every  of 
ihefe  points  was  this  convention  violated  by  fubfequent 
kings  xind  parliaments,  and  other  infradions  of  their  con- 
flituiion  equally  dangerous  committed.  Their  general  affem- 
bly, which  was  compofed  of  the  council  oflhue  and  bur- 
geiles,  fitting  together  and  deciding  by  plurality  of  voices, 
was  fplit  into  two  houfcs,  by  v/hicli  the  council  obtained  a 
feparate  n-egative  on  their  laws.  Appeals  from  their  fu- 
prem'e  court,  v/hich  had  been  fixed  bv  law  in  their  pene- 
ral  aflcmbly,  were  arbitrarily  revoked  to  England,  to  be 
there  heard  before  the  king  and  council.  Inllead  of  four 
hundred  miles  on  the  fca  coaft,  they  were  reduced,  in  the 
Ipace  oi  thirty  years,  to  about  one  lumdred  miles.  Their 
trade  with  foreigners  was  totally  fupprefi'ed,  and  when 
carried  to  Great  Britain,  was  there  loaded  v.ith  impofts. 
it  is  unnecelTary,  however,  to  glean  up  the  feveral  inllanc- 
es  oi-  injury,  as  fcattered  through  American  and  BrlriHi 
hiftory,  and  the  more  efpecially  as,  by  paifing  on  to  the 
accellion  of  the  prefent  king,  we  Ihall  find  fpecimens  of 
them  all,  aggravated,  multiplied  and  crouded  within  a 
imall  compafs  of  time,  fo  as  to  evince  a  fixed  dcfign  of 
confidering  our  rights  natural,  conventional  and  chartered 
as  mere  nullities.     The  following  is  an  epitome  of  the 

*  Art.  ^. [•  Art.  7. 1  Art.  3, ]  Art.  8. 


(         I20         )  ^ 

fir il:  fifteen  years  of  his  reign.  The  colonies  were  taxed 
internally  and  externally  ;  their  elTential  interefts  facriliced 
to  individuals  in  Great  Britain  ;  their  legiilatures  fufpend- 
ed  ;  charters  annulled  ;  trials  by  juries  taken  away  ;  their 
perfons  fubjected  to  tranfportation  acrofs  the  Atlantic,  and 
to  trial  before  foreign  judicatories  5  their  fupphcations  for 
iedrefs  Thought  beneath  anfwer  ;  thenifelves  publiflied  as 
cowards  in  the  council  ci  their  mother  country  and  courts 
of  Europe ;  armed  troops  fent  amongft  them  to  enforce 
fubmillion  to  thefe  violencies  ;  and  adual  hoftihties  com- 
menced againfl  thenii  No  alternative  was  prefented  but 
refiflance,  or  unconditional  fubniiflion.  Between  thefe 
could  be  no  hefitation.  They  clofed  in  the  appeal  to  arms. 
They  declared  themfelves  independent  ftates.  They  con- 
federated together  into  one  great  republic  ;  thus  fecuring 
to  every  ftate  the  benefit  of  an  union  of  their  whole  force. 
In  each  ftate  feparately,  a  new  form  of  government  was 
tftabUihed.  Of  ours  particularly  the  following  are  the 
rmtlineSi  The  executive  powers  are  lodged  in  the  hands 
bf  a  governor,  chofen  annually,  and  incapable  of  ading 
more  than  three  years  in  feven.  He  is  afTifted  by  a  coun- 
cil of  eight  members.  The  judiciary  powers  are  divided 
among  feveral  courts,  as  will  be  hereafter  explained.  Le* 
giflation  is  exercifed  by  two  houfes  of  affembly,  the  one 
called  the  houfe  of  Delegates,  compofed  of  two  members 
from  each  county,  chofen  annually  by  the  citizens  poffeflP- 
ing  an  eftate  for  life  in  one  hundred  acres  of  uninhabited 
land,  or  tventy-fivc  acres  with  a  houfe  on  it,  or  in  a  houfe 
or  lot  in  fome  town  :  the  other  called  the  Senate,  con^ 
filling  of  twenty-four  members,  chofen  quadrennially  by 
the  fame  eleftors,  who,  for  this  purpcfe  are  diltributed 
into  twenty-four  diftricts.  The  concurrence  oi  both  houfes 
is  neceifary  to  the  paifage  of  a  law.  They  have  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  governor  and  council,  the  judges  of  the 
fuperior  courts,  auditors,  attorney-general,  treafurer,  re- 
j^Ilier  of  the  land-office,  and  delegates  to  congrefs.  As 
ilie  difmemberment  of  the  (late  had  never  had  its  con. 
iirmation,  but  on  the  contrary,  had  always  been  the  fub- 
jeft  of  prctcflation  and  complaint,  that  it  might  never  be 
in  oyr  own  power  to  raife  fcru])lcs  on  that  fubjeft,-  or  to 
diilurb  the  harmony  ot  our  new  confederacy,  the  grants 
to  Maryland,  Tennfylvania,  and  the  two  Carolinas  were 
ratified. 


( 


121 


) 


This  conHiltution  was  formed  when  we  were  new  and 
unexperienced,  in  the  fcience  ot  government.  It  was  the 
lirft  too  which  was  formed  in  the  whole  United  States.  No 
wonder  then  that  time  and  trial  have  difcovered  very  ca- 
pital defeds  in  it. 

1.  The  majority  of  the  men  In  the  flate,  who  pay  and 
fight  for  its  fupport,  are  unreprefented  in  the  legillature, 
the  roll  of  freeholders  entitled  to  vote,  not  including  ge- 
nerally the  half  ot  thole  on  the  roll  of  militia,  or  of  the 
lax-gatherers. 

2.  Among  thofe  who  fliare  the  reprefentarion,  the 
fharcs  are  very  unequal.  Thus  the  county  of  Warwick, 
with  only  loc  fighting  men,  has  an  equal  reprefentatioii 
with  the  county  of  Loudon  which  has  1746.  So  that  e-, 
very  man  in  Warwick  has  as  much  influence  in  the  go- 
vernment as  1 7  men  in  Loudon.  But  le(t  it  fliould  be 
thought  that  an  equal  interfperfion  of  fmall  among  large 
counties,  through  the  whole  flate,  may  prevent  any  dan- 
ger of  injury  to  particular  parts  of  it,  we  wall  divide  it  into 
diftridls,  and  (liew  the  proportions  of  land,  of  fighting- 
men,  and  of  reprefcntation  in  each. 


Square 

Fighting 

Dele- 

fcna- 

miles. 

men. 
19,012 

gates. 

tors. 

*II;205 

7X 

12 

lS,759 

i8,P2S 

46 

8 

11,911 

7,67; 

16 

2 

179,650 

4,45s 

t6 

-^ 

I2r,sa5 

49;97i 

149 

24 

Between  the  fca-co^It  and  falls  of 

the  rivers 
Between  tiie  falls  of  the  rivers  and  ) 

the  Blue  ridge  of  mountains        3 
Between  the  Blue  ridge  and   the  7 

Alleghaney  3 

Between  the  Alleghaney  and  Ohio 

Total 


An  infpeftion  of  this  table  will  fupply  the  place  of  com- . 
mentaries  on  it.  It  will  appear  at  once  that  19,000  men^ 
living  below  the  falls  of  the  rivers,  polTefs  half  the  fenate, 
and  want-  four  members  only  of  pofiefling  a  majority  of 
the  houfe  of  delegates ;  a  want  more  ihanfupplied  by  the 
vicinity  of  their  fituation  to  the  feat  of  government,  and  of 
courfe  the  greater  degree  of  convenience  and  punctuality 
with  which  their   members  may  and  w  ill  attend  in  the  Ic- 

*  Of  thefe  542  are  on  the  Eadern  Shore. 

t  Of  tb.ele  22,6x6  are  call  svardof  the  n.ciidean  of  the  north  of  th? 
^real  Kanhawav. 


(       122       ) 

l^iriature.  Thefe  19,000  therefore,  living  in  0116  part  of 
ihe  country,  give  law  to  upwards  of  30,000  living  in  an- 
other, and  appoint  all  their  chief  officers  executive  and 
judiciary.  From  the  difference  of  their  fituation  and  cir- 
cuniftances,  their  interefts  will  often  be  very  different. 

3.  The  fenate  is  by  its  conftitution,  too  homogeneous 
with  the  houfe  of  delegates.  Being  chofen  by  the  fame 
cleftors,  at  the  fame  time,  and  out  of  the  fame  fubjeds 
■the  choice  falls  of  courfe  on  men  of  the  fame  defcription. 
1  he  purpofe  of  eftablilhing  different  houfes  of  legifiatioii 
is  to  introduce  the  inlluence  of  different  intereils  or  differ- 
ent principles.  Thus  in  Great  Britain  it  is  faid  their  con- 
ilitution  relies  on  the  houfe  of  commons  for  honefty,  and 
the  lords  for  wifdom  :  which  would  be  a  rational  reliance 
if  honefty  were  to  be  bought  with  money,  and  if  wifdom 
were  hereditary.  In  feme  of  the  American  ftates  the  de- 
legates and  fenatcrs  are  fo  chofen,  as  that  the  firft  repre- 
fent  the  perfons,  and  the  fecond  the  property  of  the  ffate. 
But  with  us  wealth  and  wifdom  have  equal  chance  for  ad- 
miffion  into  both  houfes.  We  do  not  therefore  derive 
from  the  feparation  of  our  legiflr.ture  into  two  houfes, 
thofe  benefits  which  a  proper  complication  of  principles  is 
capable  of  producing,  and  thofe  which  alone  can  com- 
penfate  the  evils  which  may  be  produced  by  their  diO'en- 
tions. 

4.  All  the  powers  of  government,  legiflative,  executive-, 
and  judiciary, refult  to  the  Icgiflativebody.  Theconcentrat- 
ing  thefe  in  the  fame  hands  is  precifely  the  definition  of 
defpotic  government.  It  will  be  no  alleviation  that  thefe 
powers  will  be  exercifed  by  a  plurality  of  hands,  and  not 
by  a  fmgle  one.  173  defpots  would  furely  be  as  oppreflive 
as  one.  Let  thofe  who  doubt  it  turn  their  eyes  on  the  re- 
public of  Venice.  As  little  will  it  avail  us  that  they  are 
chofen  by  ourfelves.  An  clccJivc  dcfpotifm  was  not  the  go- 
vernm.ent  v.'c  fought  for  ;  but  one  which  fhould  not  only 
be  founded  on  free  principles,  but  in  which  the  powers  of 
government  fliould  be  fo  divided  and  balanced  among  fe- 
vei^al  bodies  of  map;iflracy,  as  that  no  one  could  tranfcend 
their  legal  limits,  without  being  effectually  checked  and 
reflrained  by  the  others.  For  this  veafon  that  convention, 
which  paffed  the  ordinance  of  government,  laid  its  foun- 
dation on  this  bafis,  that  thelegiflative,  executive  andju- 


C     '^3     ) 

dlciary  departments  flioulJ  be  feparate  and  dlfllncl,  f^j 
that  no  pc^rfon  fhould  eKcrcifc  the  powers  ot  more  tlun  onu' 
ot  lliein  at  the  faine  time.  But  no  barrier  was  provided 
between  thele  feveral  porvers.  The  judir.iary  and  execu- 
tive members  were  left  dependent  on  the  kgiflative,  lor 
their  rublillence  in  oflice,  and  Jbme  of  them  ior  their  con- 
tinuance in  it.  If  therefore  the  Ivj^iOature  aifiunes  exe- 
cutive and  judiciary  powers,  no  oppoution  is  hkely  to  be 
made ;  nor,  if  made,  can  it  be  elfectual  :  becaufe  in  that 
cafe  they  may  put  their  proceedings  into  the  form  of  an 
act  of  alVembly,  which  will  render  them  obligatory  on  the 
other  branches.  They  have  accordingly,  in  many  inilanc- 
es,  decided  rights  which  (liould  have  been  1  eft  to  judici- 
ary controverly  :  and  the  direction  of  the  extcutive,  dur- 
ing the  whole  time  of  their  felTion,  is  becoming  habitual 
and  familiar..  And  this  is  done  with  no  ill  intention.  The 
views  of  the  prefent  members  areperfediy  upright.  When 
they  are  led  out  of  their  regular  province,  it  is  by  art  in 
others,  and  inadvertence  inthemfelves.  And  this  will  pro- 
bably be  the  cafe  for  fome  time  to  come.  But  it  will  not 
be  a  very  long  time.  Mankind  loon  learn  to  make  inter- 
eiled  ufes  of  every  right  and  power  which  they  pofTefs, 
or  may  alTume.  The  public  money  and  public  liberty,  in- 
tended to  have  been  dcpoiited  with  three  branches  of  ma- 
gidracy  but  found  inadvertently  to  be  in  the  hands  of  one 
only,  will  foon  be  difcovered  to  be  I'ources  of  wealth  and 
dominion  to  thofe  who  hold  them  ;  dillinguiflied  too  by 
this  tempting  circum fiance,  that  they  are  the  inftrumenr, 
as  well  as  the  objecl  of  acquifition.  With  money  we  will 
get  men,  faid  C^cfar,  and  with  men  we  will  get  money. 
Nor  fhould  our  allembly  be  deluded  by  the  integrity  of 
their  own  purpofes,  and  conclude  that  thcfe  unlimited 
powers  will  never  be  abufed,  becaufe  themfelves  are  not 
difpofed  to  abufcthem.  They  fiiould  look  forward  to  a  time, 
and  that  not  a  dilf  ant  one,  when  corruption  in  this,  as  in 
the  country  from  which  we  derived  our  origin,  will  have 
feized  the  heads  o^  government,  and  be  fpread  by  them 
through  the  body  of  the  people  ;  when  they  will  purchafe 
the  voices  of  the  people,  and  make  them  pay  the  price. 
Human  nature  is  the  fame  on  every  fide  of  the  Atlantic, 
and  will  be  alike  influenced  by  the  fame  caufes.  '1  he  time 
to  guard. againll  corruption  and  tyranny,  is  before  they 


(      124      >  ♦ 

fliall  have  gotten  hold  on  us.  It  is  better  to  keep  the  wolf 
out  of  the  fold,  than  to  trull  to  drawing  his  teeth  and 
talons  after  he  fiiall  have  entered.  To  render  thefe  confider- 
ations   the  more  cogent,  we  mull  obferve  in  addition. 

5.  That  'the  ordiujiry  legiflature  may  alter  the  conftitu- 
tion  itfelf.  On  the  difcontinuance  of  all'emblies,  it  became 
neceffary  to  fubilitute  in  their  place  fome  other  body, 
competent  to  the  ordinary  bufinefs  of  government,  and 
to  the  calling  forth  the  pou'ers  of  the  flate  for  the  main- 
tenance of  our  oppofition  to  Great  Britain.  Conventions 
were  therefore  mtrodaccd, .  connlling  of  two  delegates 
from  each  county,  meeting  together  andforming  one  houfe, 
on  the  plan  of  the  former  houfe  of  burgelTes,  to  whofe 
places  they  fucceeded.  Thefe  were  at  firft  chofen  anew 
for  every  particular  feffion.  But  in  March  1775,  they 
recommended  to  the  people  to  chufe  a  convention,  which 
fliould  continue  in  otlicea  year.  This  was  done  according- 
ly in  April  1775,  and  in  the  July  following  that  conven- 
tion paffed  an  ordinance  for  the  eleftion  of  delegates  in  the 
month  of  April  annually.     It  is  well  known,  that  in  July 

1775,  a  feparation  from  Great  Britain  and  eflabliOiment 
of  Repubhcan  government  had  never  yet  entered  into  any 
perfori's  mind.  A  convention  therefore,  chofen  under 
thac  ordinance,  cannot  be  faid  to  have  been  chofen  for  the 
purpofes  which  certainly  did  not  exifl  in  the  minds  of  thofe 
who  palled  it.  Under  this  ordinance,  at  the  annual  elec- 
tion in  April  1776,  a  convention  for  the  year  was  chofen. 
Independence  and  the  e(tabli{hment  of  a  new  form  of  go-- 
vernment,  were  not  even  yet  the  objefts  of  the  people  at 
large.  One  extract  from  the  pamphlet  called  Common  Senfe 
had  appeared  in  the  Virginia  papers  in  February,  and  cor 
pies  of  the  pamphlet  itfelf  had  got  into  a  few  hands.  But- 
the  idea  had  not  been  opened  to  the  mafs  of  the  people 
in  April,  much  lefs  can  it  be  faid  that  they  had  made  up 
their  minds  in  its  favour.     So  that    the  electors  of  April 

1776,  no  more  than  the  leginators  of  July  1775,  ^^^  think- 
ing of  independence  and  a  permanent  republic,  could 
not  mean  to  veil  in  thefe  delegates  powers  of  ellablifliing 
them,  or  any  authorities  other  than  thofe  of  the  ordina- 
ry legiflature.  So  far  as  a  temporary  organization  of 
government  was  neceffary  to  render  our  oppofition  ener- 
getic, ib  far    their  organization   was    valid.     But    they 


(     1^5     ) 

received  in  their  crcLUion  no  powers  but  whnt  were  given 
to  every   legifluture   before  and    Hnce.     They  could  not 
therefore  pafs  an  act  triinfcenJant  ro  the  powers  of  other 
Icgiflatures      If  thj  prefect  alTcmbiy  pafs  an  ad,  and  de- 
clare it  llial!  be  irrevocable  by  fubfequent  affi-mbiies,  the 
declaration  is  merely  void,  and  the  act  rcpealable,  as  other 
acbs  are.     So  far,  and  no  farther  authorized,   they  organ- 
ized the  government  by  the  ordinance  entitled  a  conltitu- 
tion  or  form  of  government.     It  pretends   to  no  higher 
authority  th;in  the  other  ordinances  of  the  fame  feiiion  ; 
it  does  not  fay,  ti  at  it  flvall  be  perpetual  ;   that  it  fliall  be 
unalterable  by  other  hgiflatures  ;  that  it  niall  be  tranfcend- 
ant  above   the   powers  of  thofe,  v»ho  they   knew   would 
liave  equal  power  with  themfelves.     Not  only  the  filence 
of  the  ia!l:runi:nt  is  a  proof  they  thought  it  would  be  al- 
terable, but  their  own    pracxice  alio  :     for  this  very  con- 
vention meeting  as  a  houfe  of  delegates  in  general  afi'em- 
bly  with  the  fenate  in  the  autumn  of  that  year,  paffed  ads 
ot  alTembly  in  contradidion  to  their  ordinance  of  govern- 
ment ;  and  every  aiTembly  from  that  time  to  this  has  done 
the  fame.     I  am  fafe  therefore  in   the  pofition,  that   the 
conftitution  itfelf  is  alterable  by   the  ordinary  legiflature. 
Though  this  opinion  feems  founded  on   the  firft  elements 
of  common  feni'e,  yet  is  the  contrary  maintained  by  fome 
perfons.     i.  Becaufe  fay  they,  the  conventions  were  veft- 
ed  with  every  power  neceffary  to  make  effedual  oppofiti- 
on  to  Great  J3ritain.   But  to  complete  this  argument,  they 
mud  go  on  and  fay  further,  that  effectual  oppofition  could 
not  be  made  to  Great  Britain,  without  eflabiiHiing  a  form 
of  government  perpetual  and  unalterable  by  the  legiflatuie; 
which  i^?  not  true.     An  oppofition  which  at  fome  time  or 
otiier  was  to  come  to  an  end,  could  not  need  a  perpetual 
inititution  to  carry  it  on  :  and  a  government,  amendable 
as  its  defeds  fhould  be  difcovered,  was  as  likely  to  make 
eiledual  refiHance,  as  one  wliich  fhould  be   unalterably 
wrong.     Jkfides,    the  affemb'ies   were   as   much   veiled 
with  ail  powers  requifite  for  rcfifiance  a-i  the  conventions 
were.     If  therefore  thefe  powers  included  that  of  model- 
ling the  form  of  government  in  the  one  cafe,  they  did  [o 
in  the  other.     1  he  alfembiies  then  as  well  as  the  conven- 
tions maA'  model  the  government ;   that  is,  they  may  alter 

R 


(      126     )      , 

the  ordinance  of  government.  i.  They  urge,  that  if  the 
convention  had  meant  that  this  inllrument  IhouW  be  alter- 
able, as  their  other  ordinances  were,  they  would  have 
called  it  an  ordinance  :  but  ihey  have  called  it  a  covjUtuli- 
on,  which  ex  vi  termini  means  '  an  atl  above  the  pow- 
er of"  the  ordinary  legiilature.'  I  anlwer  that  conjiitutio, 
con/tit utium^  Jiatutum,  lex^  are  convertible  terms.  '  Con- 
fiivutio  dicitur  JUS  quod  a  principe  coaditure.  Conjlitutum, 
quod  ab  in-.peratoribus  reicriptum  ftatutumve  eft.*  Statu- 
ium,  idem  quod  lex.'  Calvini  Lexicon  juridicum.  Con- 
Jiindion  and  /iatute  wi^re  originally  terms  of  the*  civil  law, 
and  from  thence  introduced  by  ecclefiaftics  into  the  Eng- 
liih  law.  Tiius  in  the  ftatute  25  Hen.  8.  c.  19.  §.  i. 
*"  Coy]JUtutions  and  crdinances^  are  u fed  as  fynonimous. — 
The  term  conjiiiution  has  many  other  fignifications  in  phy- 
fics  and  in  politics  ;  but  in  jurifprudence,  whenever  it  is 
applied  to  any  acl:  of  the  legiflature,  it  invariably  means  a 
ftatute,  law,  or  ordinance,  which  is  the  prefent  cafe. 
No  inference  then  of  a  difierent  meaning  can  be  drawn 
from  the  adoption  of  this  title  ;  on  the  contrary  we  might 
conclude,  that  by  their  affixing  to  it  a  term  fynonimous 
with  ordinance  or  ftatute.  But  of  what  crnfequence  is 
their  meaning,  where  their  power  is  denied  ?  If  they 
meant  to  do  more  than  they  had  power  to  do,  did  this 
give  them  power  ?  It  is  not  the  name  but  the  authority 
that  renders  an  aft  obligatory.  Lord  Coke  fays,  '  an  ar- 
'  tide  of  the  ftatute  11  R.  2..  c.  5.  that  no  perfon  Ihould 
''  attempt  to  revoke  any  ordinance  then  made,  is  repealed, 
'  for  tliat  fuch  reftraint  is  *gainft  the  jurifdidion  and  pov/- 
'■  er  of  the  parliament,'  4  InIL  42.  and  again,  'though 
'  divers  parliaments  have  attempted  to  reftrain  fubfequtnt 
'  parliaments,  yet  could  they  never  effect  it ;  for  the  lat- 
'  ter  parliament  hath  ever  power  to  abrogate,  fufpcnd, 
'  qualify,  explain,  or  make  void  the  former  in  the  whole 
'  or  in  any  part  thereof,  notwithftanding  any  words  of  re- 
'  ftraint,  prohibition,  or  penalty  in  the  former  :  for  it  is 
'  a  maxim'  in  the  laws  of  the  parUament,  quod  leges  pofte- 
*  riores  priores  contrarias  abrogant.*  4.  Inft.  43.— To  get 
rid  of  the  magic  fuppofed  to  be  in  the  word  conil'itutiGn^ 
let  us  tranflute  it  into  its  definition  as  given  by  thofe  who 

*  1  o  l>iil.   to  fer,  was  the  ancient  Icgillative  word  of  the  Fnglini. 
LI.  iilolliavii  I:.  Eadrki.     LI.  Inac.  LI.  Laawtidi.  LL  Aalhelltaiii. 


(     1^7     ) 

think  it  above  the  power  of  tlie  huv  ;  and  let  us  fuppofe 
\\\c  convention  uu'lead  of  fa)  ini;  '  We  the  ordinary  legiflar 

*  turc  eftabHlli  a  ron/Iilii/ion,'  had  (aid,  '  We  the  ordinary 
'  legifiature,  enahlilli  an  7it\  above  the  poii-cr  of  th*!  onlinury 

*  LgiJJaturc'  Does  not  this  expolc  the  abfurdity  of  the 
attempt  ?  3.  But  fay  they,  tlie  people  have  acquiefced, 
and  this  has  given  it  an  authority  fuperior  to  the  laws.  It 
is  true,  that  the  people  did  not  rebel  againfl  it :  and  was 
that  a  time  for  the  people  to  rife  in  rebellion  ?  Should  a 
prudent  acquiefccnce,  at  a  critical  time,  be  conflrued  into 
a  coniirmation  of  every  illegal  thing  done  during  that  pe- 
riod ?  Befides,  why  Ihould  ;hey  rebe;  ?  At  anannuiii  elec- 
tion, they  had  chofen  delegates  for  the  year,  to  extrcife 
the  ordinary  powers  of  legiflation,  and  to  tr:anr.ge  the 
great  contefl  in  which  they  were  engaged.  Thefe  delegates 
thought  the  contelt  would  be  befl:  managed  by  an  organi- 
zed government.  They  therefore,  among  others,  paifed 
an  ordinance  of  government.  They  did  not  prcfume  to 
call  it  perpetual  and  unalterable.  They  well  km  w  they 
had  no  power  to  make  it  fo  ;  that  our  choice  of  them  had 
1  een  for  no  fuch  purpofe,  and  at  a  time  when  we  could 
have  no  fuch  purpofe  in  contemplation.  Had  Tin  unaltera- 
ble form  of  government  been  meditated,  perhaps  we  fliould 
have  chofen  a  different:  fet  of  people.  There  was  no  Cduf^ 
then  for  the  people  to  rife  in  rebellion.  But  to  what  dan- 
gerous lengths  will  this  argument  lead  ?  Did  the  acquief- 
ccnce  of  the  colonies  under  the  various  a6ts  of  pov/er  ex- 
€rcifed  by  Great  Britain  in  our  itifant  Hate,  confirm  thefe 
acls,  and  fo  far  invjft  them  with  the  authority  of  thp 
people  as  to  render  them  unalterable,  and  our  prefent  re- 
fillance  wrong  ?  On  every  unauthoritative  exercife  of  pow- 
er by  the  legillature,  muft  the  people  rife  in  rebellion,  or 
their  filence  be  conllrued  into  a  furrender  of  that  power  to 
them  ?  If  fo,  how  many  rebellions  (liould  we  have  had  al- 
ready ?  One  certainly  fnr  every  felfion  of  aflembly.  The 
other  flat€s  in  the  union  have  been  of  opinon,  that  to  ren- 
der a  form  of  government  unalterable  by  ordinary  afts  of 
alTembly,  the  people  muft  delegate  perfons  with  fpecial 
powers.  They  have  accordingly  chofen  fpeciai  conventions 
to  form  and  fix  their  governments.  The  individuals  then 
who  maintain  the  contrary  opinion  in  this  country,  Ihould 

R2 


(     1^8     ) 

have  the  modedy  to  fuppofe  it  pcilible  tliat  they  may  be 
wrong  and  the  reft  of  America  right.  But  if  there  be 
only  a  polTibiiity  of  their  being  wrong,  if  only  a  plaufible 
doubt  remains  of  the  validity  of  the  ordinance  of  govern- 
ment,  "is  it  not  better  to  remove  that  doubt,  by  placing 
it  on  a  bottom  which  none  will  difpute  ?  If  they  be  right 
v/e  ihall  only  have  the  unnecefiary  trouble  of  meeting  once 
in  convention.  If  they  be  wrong,  they  expofe  us  to  the 
hazard  of  having  no  fundamental  rights  at  ail.  I'rue  it  is, 
this  is  no  time  for  deliberating  on  forms  of  governm.ent. 
While  an  enemy  is  within  our  bowels,  the  firll  objed  is  to 
expel  him.  But  when  this  fnall  be  done,  when  peace 
ihall  be  eilablifned,  and  leifure  given  us  for  intrench- 
ing within  good.  <orms,  the  rights  for  which  we  have 
bled,  let  no  man  be  found  indolent  enough  to  decline 
a  little  more  trouble  for  placing  them  beyond  the  reach 
ofqueftion.  If  any  thing  more  be  requifite  to  pro.iuce 
a  convidion  of  the  expediency  of  calling  a  convention 
at  a  proper  feafon  to  iix  our  form  of  government,  let  it 
be  the  reflexion. 

6.  That  the  aiTembiy  exercifes  a  power  of  determin- 
ing the  quorum  of  their  own  body  which  may  legifiate  for 
us.  Alter  the  eftablilhment  of  ihe  new  form  ihey  adher- 
ed to  the  Lir;i'  major  is  partis,  founded  in*  common  law  as 
well  as  Gommon  right.  It  is  the  f  natural  lav/  of  every 
affembiy  of  men,  whofe  numbers  are  not  fixed  by  any  c-- 
iher  law.  They  continued  for  iometimc  to  require  the 
prefence  of  a  majority  of  their  whole  number,  to  pafs  an 
act.  But  the  Britilh  parliam.ent  fixes  its  own  quorum  :  ' 
our  former  afTemblics  fixed  their  own  quorum  :  "and  one 
•precedent  in  favour  of  power  is  Rronger  than  an  hun- 
dred againlt  it.  'ihe  houfe  of  delegates  therefore  have  |- 
lately  voted,  that  during  the  prefeht  dangerous  invafion,  " 
forty  members  ihall  he  a  houfe  to  proceed  to  buiinefs. 
They  have  been  moved  to  this  by  the  fear  of  not  being  a- 
ble  to  colieft  a  houfe.  But  this  danger  could  not  autho- 
life  then:i  to  call  that  a  houfe  v.'hich  was  none  :  and  ii  they 
3uay  fix  it  one  number,  they  may  at  another,  till  it  loofcs 
i';s  fundamental  chaiLielcr  of  bein^:  li  rcprefentative  bodv. 

*   Urn.  a'-)r.   Cnrjioratiors,      q^,   •^4.     I  Inke^vc'il,  93. 
I  i'uli.  O'S.  hou!.  !.  i.  c.  6.   '    ii.     I  June  4,  1781. 


c   1-9   ; 

As-this  vote  expires  with  the  prefeiu  invafion,  it  is  proba- 
ble the  former  ruls  will  be  permitted  to  revive;  becaufeat 
pielent  r.o  ill  is  meant.  The  power  however  or  lixlng  their 
own  quorum  bas  been  avowed,  and  a  precedent  la.  From 
forty  it  may  be  reduced  to  four,  t<s:  from  four  to  one  ;  from 
a  houfe  to  a  cointnittee,  from  a  committee  to  a  chairman 
or  ipeaker,  and  thus  an  oligarchy  or  monarchy  be  juhlli- 
luted  under  forms  luppofed  to  be  regular.  '  (Jmiiia  mala 
'■  exempla  ex  bonis  orta  funt :  fed  ubi  imperium  ad  ignaros 
'  aut  minu3  bonos  pcrvenit,  novum  illud  exempium  ab 
'  dignis  et  idoneis  ad  indignos  et  noii  itloneos  fertur.* 
When  therefore  it  is  confidcred.  that  ther;;  is  no  legal  ob- 
itacle  to  thcaflumption  by  the  alfembly  of  all  the  povv'ers 
legiflitive,  executive,  and  judiciary,  and  that  thefe  may 
co;nc  to  the  hands  of  the  fmallell  rag  of  delegation,  fure- 
ly  the  people  will  fay,  and  their  rcprefentatives,  while  yet 
they  have  honell:  reprefentitives,  will  advife  them  to  fay, 
t^K-.t  they  will  not  acknowledge  as  la.vs  any  a5l<  n^t  con- 
fjdereJ  and  aiiented  to  by  che  major  part  of  their  dele- 
gates. 

In  enumeratinc:  the  defects  of  the  conflitution,  it  would 
be  wrong  to  count  among  them   what  is  only  the  error 
of  particular  perfons.     In  December    1776,  our  circum- 
ftanc^s  being  much  diftreifed,  it  waspropofed  in  the  houfe 
o^  delegates  to  create  a  ditlator,  invented  with  every  pow- 
er Icgiilative,  executive  and  judiciary,  civil  and  military,  of 
life  and  of  death,  over  our  perfons  and  over  our  proper- 
ties ;  and  in    June  178 1,  again  under  calamity,    the  fam6 
propofnion  was  repeated,  and    wanted  a  few  votes  only  of 
being  palled. — One  who   entered  into  this  contcfl:  from  a 
pure   love  of  liberty,   and  a  fenfe  of  injured  rights,  who 
d-tcrmined  to  make  every  facrifice,  and  to  meet  every  dan- 
ger, for  the   re  eftabliniment  of  thofe  rights  on  a  firm  ba- 
lis,  v^ho   did  not  mean  to  expend  his  blood  and  fubftance 
for  the  wretched  purpole  of  changing  this  mafter  for  that, 
but  to  place  the  pov/ers  of  governing  him  in  a  plurality  of 
hands  oi  his  own   choice,   fo  that  the  corrupt  will  ot  no 
irian  might  in  future  opprefs  him,  mufl:  (land  confounded 
and  difitnayed  when  he  is  told,  that  a  confiderable  portion 
of  that  plurality  had  meditated  the  furrender  of  them  in, 
to   a  fingle  hand,  and,  in   lieu  of  a  limited  monarchy,  to 
.deliver  him  ever  to  a  defpotic  one  ?  How  mult  we  lind  his 


(     '30     ) 

efforts  and  facrifices  abufed  and  bafHed,  If  he  may  fill! 
by  a  fingle  vote  be  laid  prollrate  at  the  feet  of  one  man  ? 
In  God';»  name  from  whence  have  they  derived  this  pow- 
er ?  Is  it  from  our  ancient  laws  ?  None  fuch  can  be  produc- 
j^d.  Is  it  from  any  principle  in  our  new  conftltution  ex- 
preiTed  or  ImpUed  ?  Every  lineament  of  that  expreifed  or 
implied,  Is  in  full  oppofitlon  to  it.  Its  fundamental  prin- 
ciple is,  that  the  date  Ihall  be  governed  as  a  commonwealth. 
It  provides  a  republican  organization,  profcribes  under 
the  name  of  prerogative  the  exercife  of  all  powers  unde- 
fined by  the  laws  ;  places  on  this  balis  the  whole  fyftem 
of  our  laws  ;  and  by  confolidating  them  together,  chufes 
that  (hould  be  left  to  (land  or  fall  together,  never  provid- 
ing for  any  circumftances,  nor  admitting  that  luch  could 
arife,  wherein  either  fliould  be  fufpended,  no,  not  for  a  mo- 
ment. Our  ancient  laws  exprefsly  declare,  that  thofe  who 
are  but  delegates  themfelves  fhali  not  delegate  to  others 
powers  which  require  judgment  and  integrity  in  their  ex- 
ercife.— Or  was  this  proportion  moved  on  a  fuppofed 
right  in  the  movers  of  abandoning  their  polls  in  a  moment 
of  diftrefs  ?  The  fame  lav*^s  forbid  the  abandonment  of 
that  pod,  even  on  ordinary  occafions  ;  and  much  more  a 
transfer  of  their  powers  into  other  hands  and  other  forms, 
without  confulting  the  people.  They  never  admit  the 
idea  that  thefe,  like  fheep  or  cattle,  may  be  given  from 
hand  to  hand  without  an  appeal  to  their  own  will. — Was 
it  from  the  neceffity  of  the  cafe  ?  Neceifitles  which  dilTolve 
a  government,  do  not  convey  its  authority  to  an  oligarchy, 
or  a  monarchy.  They  throwback,  into  the  hands  of  the 
people,  the  powers  they  had  delegated,  and  leave  them 
as  individuals  to  fhift  for  themfelves.  A  leader  may  offer, 
but  not  impofe  himfelf,  nor  be  impofed  on  them.  Much 
lefs  can  their  necks  be  fubmlttedto  his  fword,  their  breath 
to  be  held  at  his  will  or  caprice.  The  neceffity  which 
operate  thefe  tremendous  effects  fhould  at  leafl  be  palpable 
and  irrefiftible.  Yet  In  both  Inftances,  where  It  was  fear- 
ed, or  pretended  with  us,  it  was  belied  by  the  event.  It 
was  belied  too  by  the  preceding  experience  of  our  filler 
ftates,  feveral  of  whom  had  grappled  through  greater  dif- 
ficulties without  abandoning  their  forms  of  government. 
When  the  propofiiion  was  firft  made,  Maflachufets  had 
found  even  the   government  of  committees  fuifitlent  to 


(     i3»     ) 

carry  them  throuf!;h  an  InvnTion,  But  we  at  the  time  of 
that  propolitioii  hereunder  noinvallon.  When  the  le- 
cond  was  made,  there  had  been  added  to  this  exam- 
ple ihofe  of  Rhode-liland,  New- York,  Ncw-jerley,  and 
Pcnniyivania,  i)i  all  ot  which  the  reptiblican  form  had 
been  found  equal  to  the  talk  of  carrying  them  through 
the  feverell  trials.  In  this  itate  alone  did  there  exile  fo 
little  virtue,  that  fear  was  to  be  fixed  in  the  hearts  of 
the  people,  and  to  become  the  motive  of  their  exertions 
and  the  principle  of  their  government  ?  The  very  thought 
alone  was  treaion againft  the  people;  was treafon  againfl 
mankind  in  general  ;  as  rivetting  for  ever  the  chains 
which  bow  down  their  necks,  by  giving  to  thdr  op- 
prcifors  a  proof,  which  they  would  have  trumpeted 
through  the  univerfe,  of  the  imbecility  of  republican 
government,  in  times  of  prefTmg  danger,  to  fliicld  them 
from  harm.  Thofe  who  alfume  the  right  of  giving  a- 
way  the  reins  of  government  in  any  cafe,  mufl  be  i'ure 
that  the  herd,  whom  they  hand  on  to  the  rods  and  hatchet 
of  the  dictator,  will  lay  their  necks  on  the  block  when  he 
fhall  nod  to  them.  But  if  our  affemblies  fuppofed  fuch 
a  refignation  in  the  people,  I  hope  they  miftook  their  cha- 
rafter.  I  am  of  opinion,  that  the  government,  inftead  of 
being  braced  and  invigorated  for  greater  exertions  under 
taeir  difficulties,  would  have  been  thrown  back  upon  the 
bungling  machinery  of  county  committees  for  adminiflra- 
tion,  till  a  convention  could  have  been  called,  and  its 
"wheels  acrain  fet  into  refiular  motion.     What  a  cruel  mo- 

o  o 

ment  was  this  for  creating  fuch  an  embaraffment,  for  put- 
ting to  the  proof  the  attachment  of  our  countrymen  to 
republican  government !  Thofe  who  meant  well,  of  the 
advocates  for  this  meafure,  (and  moil  of  them  meant  well, 
for  I  know  them  perfonally,  had  been  their  fellow-labour- 
ers in  the  common  caufe,  and  had  often  proved  the  puri- 
ty of  their  principles,J  had  been  feduced  in  their  judg. 
ment  by  the  example  of  an  ancient  republic,  whole  confli- 
tution  and  circumflances  were  fundamentally  different. 
They  had  fought  this  precedent  in  the  hiftory  of  Rome, 
where  alone  it  v/as  to  be  found,  and  where  at  length  too 
it  had  proved  fatal.  They  had  taken  it  from  a  republic 
rent  by  the  mofl  bitter  fadions  and  tumults,  where  the. 
government  was  of  a  heavy-handed  unfeeling  ariitocracy. 


ever  a  people  ferocious,  and  rendered  defperate  by  pover- 
ty and  wretchednefs  ;  tumults  which  could  not  be  allayed 
under  the  niofl  trying  circumftances,  but  by  the  omnipo- 
tent hand  of  a  fingle  defpot.  Their  conilitution  there- 
fore allowed  a  temporary  tyrant  to  be  erefted,  under  the 
name  of  a  diftator  :  and  that  temporary  tyrant,  after  a 
few  examples,  became  perpetual.  They  niifapplied  this 
precedent  to  a  people,  mild  in  their  difpofitions,  patient 
under  their  trial,  united  for  the  public  liberty,  and  affec- 
tionate to  their  leaders.  But  if  from  the  conftitulion  of  the 
Roman  government  there  refulted  to  their  fenate  a  power 
of  fubmitting  all  their  rights  to  the  will  of  one  man,  does 
it  follow,  that  the  affembly  of  Virginia  have  the  famiC 
authority  ?  What  claufe  in  our  constitution  has  fubftitut- 
ed  that  of  Rome,  by  way  of  refiduary  provifion,  for  all 
cafes  not  otberwife  provided  for  ?  Or  if  theyjiiay  ftep  ad 
libitum  into  any  other  form  of  government  for  precedents 
to  rule  us  by,  for  what  oppreffion  may  not  a  precedent  be 
found  in  this  world  of  the  belluni  omnium  in  omnia? — 
Searching  for  the  foundations  of  this  proportion,  I  can 
find  none  which  may  pretend  a  colour  of  right  or  reafon 
but  the  defcft  before  developed,  that  there  being  no  bar- 
rier between  the  legillative,  executive,  and  judiciary  de- 
partments, the  legillature  may  feize  the  whole  :  that  hav- 
ing feized  it,  and  poifeffmg  a  right  to  fix  their  own  quo- 
rum, they  may  reduce  that  quorum  to  one,  whora 
they  may  call  a  chairman,  fpeaker,  di£lator,  or  by  any  o- 
ther  name  they  pleafe. — Our  fituation  is  indeed  perilous, 
and  I  hope  my  countrymen  will  be  fenfible  of  it,  and  will 
apply  at  a  proper  feafon  the  proper  remedy  ;  which  is  a 
convention  to  lix  the  conftitution,  to  amend  its  defects,  to 
bind  up  the  leVeral  branches  of  government  by  certain 
laws,  which  when  they  tranfgrefs,  their  ads  fliall  become 
nullities ;  to  render  unnecellary  an  appeal  to  the  people, 
orh\  other  Vv^ords  a  rebellion,  on  every  infraction  of  their 
rights,  on  the  peril  that  their  acquiefcence  fliall  be  con- 
iirued  into  an  intention  to  furrcnder  thofe  rights. 


(     '33     ) 

^EKT  XIV. 

X  H  E  adnnnijiration  of  jujllce  and  the  defer iptioji  cf  ths 
laws  ? 

The  ftate  is  divided  into  counties.  In  every  county  are 
appointed  magillrares,  called  julticrs  of  the  peace,  ufually 
from  eight  to  thirty  or  forty  in  number,  in  proportion  to  • 
the  fize  of  the  county,  of  the  moll  dlfcreet  and  honeil  inha- 
bitants. They  are  nominated  by  their  fellows,  but  corn- 
millioned  by  the  governor,  and  ad  without  reward.  Thcfc 
magiftrates  have  jurifdiclion  both  criminal  and  civil.  If 
the  quellion  before  them  be  aqueftion  of  law  only,  they  de- 
cide on  it  themfelves  :  but  if  it  be  of  fact,  or  of  fad  and  law 
combined,  it  muft  be  referred  to  a  jury.  In  the  latter  cafe, 
cf  a  combination  of  law  and  fiicl,  it  isufual  for  the  jurors 
to  decide  the  fact,  and  to  refer  the  law  arifmg  on  it  to 
the  decifion  of  the  judges.  But  this  divifion  of  the  fub- 
ject  lies  with  their  difcretion  only.  And  if  the  quef- 
tion'  relate  to  any  point  of  public  liberty,  or  if  it  be 
one  of  thofe  in  which  the  judges  may  be  fufpecled  of 
bi^s,  the  jury  undertake  to  decide  both  law  and  fad.  If 
they  be  miuaken,  a  decifion  againfl  right,  which  is  cafual 
only,  is  lefs  dangerous  to  the  flate,  and  lefs  afHiding  to 
the  lofer,  than  one  which  makes  part  of  a  regular  and 
uniform  fyftem.  In  truth  it  is  better  to  tofs  up  crofs  and 
pile  in  a  caufe,  than  to  refer  it  to  a  judg3  whofe  mind  is 
warped  by  any  motive  whatever,  in  that  particular  cnfe. 
But  the  common  fenfe  of  twelve  honed  men  gives  ftill  a 
better  chance  of  jufl:  decifion,  than  the  hazard  cf  crofs 
and  pile.  Thefe  judges  execute  their  procefs  by  the  Hicriff 
or  coroner  of  the  county,  or  by  Gonfliables  of  their  own. 
appointment.  If  any  freepeifon  commit  an  offence  againfl 
the  commonvveallh,  if  it  be  beiow  the  degree  of  felony, 
he  is  bound  by  a  juftice  to  appear  before  their  court,  to 
anfwer  it  on  indidment  or  information.  If  it  amount  to 
felony,  he  is  committed  to  jail,  a  court  of  thefe  jullices 
is  called  ;  if  they  on  examination  think  him  guilty,  ihey 
fend  him  to  the  jail  of  the  general  court,  before  which 


(     "34    ) 

court  he  is  to  be  tried  iirft  by  a  grand  jury  of  24,  of  whom 
13  nuifi:  concur  in.  opinion  :  if  they  nnd  him  guilty,  he  is 
then  tried  by  a  jury  bf  12  men  of  the  county  where  the 
OuVnce  wns  committed,  and  by  their  verdid:  which  mufl 
be  unanimous,  he  is  acquitted  or  condemned  without  ap- 
peah  !f  the  criminal  be  a  Have  the  trial  by  the  county 
court  Is  final,  in  every  cafe  however,  except  that  of  high 
treafon,  there  refides  in  the  governor  a  power  of  pardon. 
In  high  ireafon,  the  pardon  can  only  flow  from  the  gene- 
ral aifembly.  In  civil  matters  thefe  juflices  have  jurif- 
didion  in  all  cafes  of  whatever  value,  not  appertaining  to 
the  department  of  the  admiralty.  Thi§  jurifdiction  is  tw^o- 
fold.  If  the  matter  in  difpute  be  of  lefs  value  than  four 
dollars  and  one-fixth,  a  iingle  member  may  try  it  at  any 
time,  and  place  within  his  county,  and  may  awai;;,d  execu- 
tion on  the  goods  of  the  party  caft.  If  it  be  of  that  or 
greater  value,  it  is  determinable  before  the  county  court, 
w  hich  confifts  of  four  at  the  leaft  of  fhofe  juflices,  and 
aifembles  at  the  court-houfe  of  the  county  on  a  certain  day 
in  every  month.  From  their  determination,  if  the  matter 
be  of  the  value  of  ten  pounds  flerling,  or  concern  the  title 
or  bounds  of  lands,  an  appeal  lies  to  one  of  the  fuperior 
courts. 

There  are  three  fuperior  courts,  to  wit,  the  high-couit 
of  chancery,  the  general  court,  and  the  court  of  admiral- 
ty. The  firfl:  and  fecond  of  thefe  receive  appeals  from  the 
county  courts,  and  alfo  have  original  jurifdidion,  where 
the  fubjed;  of  controverjy  is  of  the  value  of  ten  pounds 
frerling,  or  where  it  concerns  the  title  or  bounds  of  land. 
I'he  juriididion  of  the  admiralty  Is  original  altogether. — 
'lliehigh  court  of  chancery  is  compofed  of  three  judges, 
the  general  court  of  live,  and  the  court  of  admiralty  of 
three.  The  two  firfl:  hold  their  fefhons  at  Richmond  at 
flLited  times,  the  chancery  twice  in  the  year,  and  the  ge- 
neral court  twice  for  bufinefs  civil  and  criminal,  and  twice 
more  for  criminal  only.  The  court  of  adniiralty  fits  at 
Williamfl:)urgh  whenever  a  controverfy  arifes. 

There  is  onefupreme  court,  called  the  court  of  appeals, 
compofed  of  the  judges  of  the  three  fuperior  courts,  af- 
fenjbling  twice  a  year  at  Itated  times  at  Richmond.  Thi» 
court  receiver  appeals  ia  all  civil  c»U'cs  from  each  of  the 


C     K->S     ) 

ruperior  courts,  and  determines  them  finally.     Cut  it  has 
!:o  original  jurifdidion. 

If  a  conttoverfy  arife  between  two  foreigners  of  a  nation 
in  alliance  with  the  United  States,  it  is  decided  by  the 
Conful  for  their  ftatc,  or,  li  both  parties  chule  it,  by  the 
ordinary  courts  of  juftice.  It  one  ot  the  parties  only  bo 
fu ch  a  foreigner,  it  is  triable  before  the  courts  of  jullice 
of  the  country.  But  if  it  (liall  have  been  inftituted  in  a 
county  court,  the  foreigner  may  remove  it  into  the  gene- 
ral court,  or  court  of  chancery,  who  are  to  determineit  at 
their  firft  feilions,  as  they  muft  a'lfo  do  if  it  be  originally 
commenced  before  them.  In  cafes  of  life  and  death,  fuch 
foreigners  have  a  right  to  be  tried  by  a  jury,  the  one-half 
foreigners,  the  other  natives. 

A\\  public  accounts  are  fettled  with  aboard  of  auditors 
confilting  of  three  members,  appointed  by  the  general  af- 
fembly,  any  tv/o  of  t.  hom  may  act.  But  an  Individual, 
dillatistied  with  the  determination  of  that  board,  may  carry 
his  cafe  into  the  proper  fuperior  court. 
A  dcfcriplion  of  the  laics. 

The  general  affembly  was  conftitutcd,  as  has  been  alrea- 
dy fhown,  by  letters-patent  of  March  the  9th,  1607,  in 
the  4th  year  of  the  reign  of  James  the  firft.  The  laws  of 
England  feem  to  have  been  adopted  by  confcnt  of  the  fet- 
tiers,  which  might  eafily  enough  be  done  whilli  they  were 
few  and  living  all  together.  Of  fuch  adoption,  however,  we 
have  no  other  proof  than  their  pradice  till  the  year  1661, 
when  they  were  exprefsly  adopted  by  an  act  of  the  alTem- 
bl^',  except  lb  far  as  '  a  difference  of  condition*  rendered 
them  Inapplicable.  Under  this  adoption,,  the  rule  in  our 
courts  of  judicature  was,  that  the  common  law  of  ling- 
land,  and  the  general  flatutes  previous  to  the  4th  of  James, 
were  in  force  here;  but  that  no  fubfequent  ftatutes  were, 
iinlcfs  li'c  ivere  named  in  the?n,  faid  the  judges  and  other 
partlfans  of  the  crown,  hut  na?iied  or  not  Jiamed,  faid  thofe 
who  reflected  freely.  It  will  be  unneceflary  to  attempt  a 
defcriptionof  the  laws  of  England,  as  that,  may  be  found 
in  Englifli  publications.  To  thofe  which  were  eftabliflied 
here,  by  the  adoption  of  the  legiflature,  have  been  fince 
added  a  number  of  acts  of  aflembly  pafl'ed  during  the 
monarchy,  and  ordinances  of  convention  and  ads  of  af- 

.       S3 


(     136     ) 

fembly  enaded  fmce  the  eftabliflunent  of  the  republic— 
The  followhijr  variations  fiom  the  Britifli  model  are  ner- 
haps  worthy  of  being  fpecified. 

Debtors  unable  to  pay  their  debts,  and  making  faithful 
delivery  of  their  whole  efl'edls,  are  releafed  from  confine- 
ment, and  their  perfcns  for  ever  difcharged  from  reftraint 
for  fuch  previous  debts :  but  any  property  they  may  af- 
terwards acquire  will  be  fubjeft  to  their  creditors. 

Hk'  poor,  unable  to  fupport  themfelves,  are  maintained 
by  an  afieffment  on  thetytheable  perfons  in  their  pariih. 
This  afleifmentis  levied  and  adminiftered  by  twelve  perfons 
in  eachparifli,  called  veftrymen,  originally  chofen  by  the 
houfekeepers  of  the  parifh,  but  afterwards  filling  vacancies 
in  their  own  body  by  their  own  choice.  Thefe  are  ufual- 
ly  the  moft  difcreet  farmers,  fo  diftributed  through  their 
parifh,  that  every  part  of  it  may  be  under  the  immediate 
eye  of  fome  one  of  them.  They  are  well  acqwainrcd 
yith  the  detmls  and  economy  of  private  life,  and  they 
find  fufficient  inducements  to  execute  their  charge  well,  in 
their  philanthropy,  in  the  approbation  of  their  neighbours, 
and  the  diflindion  which  that  gives  them.  The  poor  who 
have  neither  property,  friends,  nor  ftrength  to  labour,  ar^ 
boarded  in  the  houfes  of  good  farmers  to  whom  a  ftipu- 
lated  fum  is  annually  paid.  To  thofe  who  are  able  to 
help  themfelves  a  little,  or  have  friends  from  whom  they 
derive  fome  fuccours,  inadequate  however  to  their  full 
jnaintenance,  fupplementary  aids  are  given  which  enable 
them  to  live  comfortable  in  their  ow n  houfes,  or  in  the 
houfes  cf  their  friends.  Vagabonds  >\'ithout  vifible  pj^o- 
perty  or  vocation,  are  placed  in  workhoufts,  where  they 
are  well  cloathed,  fed,  lodged,  and  made  to  labour.  Near- 
ly the  fame  method  of  providing  for  the  poor  prevails 
through  all  our  ftates  ;  and  from  Savannah  to  Forifmouth 
you  will  fcldom  meet  a  beggar.  In  the  larger  towns  indeed 
ihey  fometimes  prefeni  themftlves.  Thcie  are  ufually 
foreigners,  who  have  nevcrobtiuncd  a  fettlement  in  any 
parifh.  1  never  yet  law  a  Udtive  i\merican  begging  in  the 
iireetsor  highways.  A  fubliilence  is  eafly  gained  here  : 
and  if,  by  nasfortunes,  they  are  thi  own  on  the  charities  of 
the  world,  thofe  provided  by  their  own  county  are  fo 
Cv.  mforlable  and  i'o  ccitain,  that  they  never  think  of  relin- 
quiliiing  them  '.o  beccnie  iiroliing  beggi,rs.     Their  fitua. 


(     ^Z7     ) 

tion  too,  when  Tick,  in  the  family  of  a  good  fanner,  where 
every  member  is  emulous  to  do  them  kind  olTices,  where 
they  are  vifited  by  all  the  neighbours,  who  bring  them  the 
little  rarities  which  their  fickly  appetites  may  crave,  and 
who  take  by  rotation  the  nightly  watch  over  them,  when 
their  condition  requires  it,  is  without  comparifon  better 
than  in  a  general  holpital,  where  the  fick,  the  dying,  and 
the  dead  are  crammed  together,  in  the  fame  rooms,  and 
often  in  the  fame  beds.  The  difadvantages,  infeparable 
from  general  hofpitals,  are  fuch  as  can  never  be  counter- 
poifed  by  all  the  regularities  of  medicine  and  regimen. 
Nature  and  kind  nurfing  fave  a  much  greater  proportion  in 
our  plain  way,  at  a  fmaller  expence,  and  with  lefs  abufe. 
One  branch  only  of  hofpital  inflitution  is  wanting  with 
us  ;  that  is,  a  general  eilablifhment  for  thofe  labouring 
under  dilficult  cafes  of  chirurgery.  The  aids  of  this  art  are 
not  equivocal.  But  an  able  chirurgeon  cannot  be  had  in 
every  parilh.  Such  a  receptacle  fhould  therefore  be  pro- 
vided for  thofe  patients:  but  no  others  lliould  be  admit- 
ted. 

Marriages  mufl:  be  folemnized  either  on  fpecial  licence, 
granted  by  the  firlt  magiitrate  of  the  county,  on  proof  of 
the  confent  of  the  parent  or  guardian  of  either  party  vn- 
der  age,  or  after  folemn  publication,  on  three  feveral  fun- 
days,  at  fome  place  of  religious  worlhip,  in  the  parifhes 
where  the  parties  refide.  The  act  of  folemnization  may  be 
by  the  miniller  of  any  fociety  of  Chriltians,  who  Ihali 
have  been  previoufly  licenfed  for  this  purpofe  by  the  court 
of  the  county.  Q^iakers  and  Menonilts  however  arc  ex- 
empted from  all  thefe  conditions,  and  marriage  amon^ 
them  Is  to  be  folemnized  by  the  fociety  itfelf. 

A  foreigner  of  any  n:ition,not  in  open  war  with  us,  be- 
comes naturalized  by  removing  to  the  flate  to  refide,  and 
taking  an  oath  of  fidelity  :  and  thereupon  acquires  every 
right  of  a  native  citizen  ;  and  citizens  may  divefl  them- 
felves  of  that  characler,  by  declaring,  by  folemn  deed,  or 
hi  open  court,  that  they  mean  to  expatriate  thenifclves,  and 
no  longer  to  be  citizens  of  this  Hate. 

Conveyances  of  land  muft  be  reglflered  In  the  court  of 
the  county  wherein  they  lie,  or  in  the  general  court,  or 
they  arc  void^  as  to  creditors,  and  fubfequent  purchaferp. 


>       C   138    ) 

Slaves  pafs  by  defcent  and  dower  a&  lands  do.  Where 
the  defcent  is  from  a  parent,  the  heir  is  bound  to  pay  an 
equal  ihare  of  their  value  in  money  to  each  of  his  brothers 
and  fiPcers. 

Slaves,  as  well  as  lands,  were  entailable  during  the  mo- 
narchy :  but  by  an  act  of  the  firft  republican  affembly,  all 
donees  in  tail,  prefent  and  future,  were  veiled  with  the  ab- 
folute  dominion  of  the  entailed  uibjecl:. 

Bills  of  exchange,  being  protefted,  carry  10  per  cent, 
intereft  from  their  date. 

No  perfon  is  allowed,  in  any  other  cafe,  to  take  more 
than  five  per  cent  per  annum  fimplc  interell  for  the  loan 
of  monies. 

Gaming  debts  are  made  void,  and  monies  actually  paid 
to  difcharge  fuch  debts  Cifth'ey  exceed  40  fhillings)  may 
be  recovered  by  the  payer  within  three  months,  or  by  any 
other  perfon  afterwards. 

Tobacco,  flour,  beef,  pork,  tar,  pitch,  and  turpentine, 
muit  be  infpecled  by  perfons  publicly  ap-pointed,  before 
they  can  be  exported. 

The  ereding  iron-works  and  mills  is  encouraged  by' 
many  previleges  ;  with  neceflary  cautions  however  to  pre- 
vent their  dams  from  obftrucling  the  navigation  of  ihe 
water-courfes.  The  general  afl'embly  have  on  feveral  oc- 
cafions  {hewn  a  great  defire  to  encourage  the  opening  the 
great  falls  of  James  and  Potomac  rivers.  As  yet,  howe- 
ver, neither  of  thefehave  been  elfeded. 

The  laws  have  alio  defcended  to  the  prefervation  and 
improvement  of  the  races  of  ufelul  animals,  fuch  as  horfcs,  • 
cattle,  deer  ;  to  the  exterpation  of  thofe  which  are  noxi- 
ous, as  wolves,  fquirrels,  crows,  blackbirds ;  and  to  the 
guarding  our  citizens  againfl  infectious  diforders,  by  Ot 
bliging  fufpe£led  veflels  coming  into  the  (late,  to  perform  • 
quarantine,  and  by  regulating  the  condud  of  perfons  bav- 
in fuch  diiorderij  within  the  ll;;;te. 

The  mode  of  acquirmg  lands,  in  the  earliefl:  times  of 
our  fettlement,  was  by  petition  to  the  general  affembly. 
If  the  lands  prayed  for  were  already  cleared  of  the  Indian 
title,  and  the  aflembly  thought  the  prayer  reafonable,  they 
pafl'ed  the  property  by  their  vote  to  the  petitioner.  But  if 
they  had  not  yet  been  ceded  by  thelndians,  it  was  necef- 
fary  that   the   petitiontr   fliould  previoully  purchafe  tbHr 


ni^ht.     Tills  purchafe  the  aflembly  verified,  by   enquiries 
vi'  the  Indian   proprietors  ;   and  being  fari.^fied  of  its  real- 
icvand  tairncfs,  proceetlcd  further  to  examine  the  reafon- 
ablenels    of   the  petition,  and  its  confidence  with  policy  j 
and  according  to  the  relult,  either  Jrrantcd  or  rejected  the 
petition.     The  company    aUb  fornetimer.,    though    very 
rarely,  granted  lands  independently  of  the  general  aflem- 
bly.    As  the  colony  increafed,  and  '  individual  applicati- 
ons for  land  multiplied,  it  was  found  to  ^ive  too  much  oc- 
cupation to  the  general   aflembly  to  enquire  into  and  exe- 
cute  the   grant   in    every  fpecial  cafe.     They   therefore 
thought  it  better  to  efliablifli  general   rules,  according  to 
which  all  grants  fiiould  be  made,  and  to  leave   to  the  go- 
vernor the  execution  of  them,  under   thefe  rules.     This 
they  did  by  what  have   been  ufually  called  the  land  laws, 
amtnding  them  from  time  to  time,  as  their  defects  were 
developed.     According  to  thefe  laws,  when  an  iiiuividu- 
al  wifhed  a  portion  of  unappropriated  land,  he  was  to  lo- 
cate and  furvey  it  by    a  public  officer,  appointed  for  that- 
purpofe  :  its  breadtfi   was  to  bear  a  certain  proportion  to 
its  length  :  the  grant  was  to  be  executed  by  the  governor  : 
and   the  lands  were  to  be  improved  in  a  certain  manner, 
within  a  given  time. 

From  thefe  regulations  there  refulted  to  the  ftatc  a  fole 
and  exclufive  power  of  taking  conveyances  of  the  Indian 
right  of  foil :  fince,  according  to  them  an  Indian  convey- 
ance alone  could  give  no  right  to  an  individual,  which  the 
laws  would  acknowledge.  The  flate  or  the  crown,  there- 
after, made  general  purchafes  of  the  Indians  from  time  to 
time,  and  the  governor  parcelled  them  out  by  fpecial 
grants,  conformed  to  the  rules  before  defcribed,  which  it 
was  not  in  his  power,  or  in  that  of  the  crown,  to  difpenfe 
with.  Grants  unaccompanied  by  their  proper  legal  cir- 
cumltances,  were  fet  afideregillarly  byyt7><? /^/a'd-j,  or  by 
bill  in  chancery.  Since  the  eflablifliment  of  our  new  go- 
vernment, this  order  of  things  is  but  little  changed.  An 
individual  wifliing  to  appropriate  to  himfelf  lands  (till  un- 
appropriated by  any  other,  pays  to  the  public  treafurer 
a  fum  of  money  proportioned  to  the  quantity  he  want."!;. 
He  carries  the  treafurer's  receipt  to  the  auditors  of  public 
accounts,  who  thereupon  debit  the  treafurer  with  the 
fum,  and  order  the  rejilter  of  the  land-oflice  to  give  the 


(     140     )  .       ' 

party  a  warrant  for  his  land.  With  this  warrant  from  th6 
regiiter,  he  goes  to  the  furveyor  of  the  county  where  the 
land  hes  on  which  he  has  cafl:  his  eye.  The  furveyor  lays 
it  off  for  him,  gives  him  its  exad  defcription,  in  the  form 
of  a  certificate,  which  certificate  he  returns  to  the  land 
office,  where  a  grant  is  made  out,  and  is  figned  by  the  go- 
vernor. This  veils  in  him  a  perfedl  dominion  in  his  lands 
tianfmifTible  to  whom  he  pleafes  by  deed  or  will,  or  by 
defcent  to  his  heirs  if  he  die  inteflate. 

Many  of  the  laws  which  were  in  force  during  the  mo- 
narchy being  relative  merely  to  that  form  of  government, 
or  inculcating  principlesinconfiftent  with  republicanifm,  the 
firft  afiembly  which  met  after  the  eilabhfhment  of  thecom- 
monwealth appointed  a  committeeto  revife  the  whole  code, 
to  reduce  it  into  proper  form  and  volume,  and  report  it  to 
the  afiembly.  This  work  has  been  executed  by  three  gen- 
tlemen, and  reported;  but  probably  will  not  be  taken  up 
till  a  reftoration  of  peace  fhall  leave  to  the  legiflature  lei- 
sure to  go  through  fuch  a  work. 

The  plan  of  the  revilal  was  this.  The  common  law  of 
England,  by  which  is  meant,  that  part  of  the  Englifli 
law  which  was  anterior  to  the  date  of  the  oldeft  ftatutes 
extant,  is  made  the  bafis  of  the  work.  It  was  thought 
dangerous  to  attempt  to  reduce  it  to  a  text :  it  was  there- 
fore left  to  be  colltded  from  the  ufual  monuments  of  it. 
Neceflary  alterations  in  that,  and  fo  much  of  the  whole  bo- 
dy of  the  Britifli  fi:atutes,  and  of  afts  of  afiembly,  as  were 
thought  proper  to  be  retained,  were  digefied  into  126 
neVk^  ads,  in  which  fimplicity  of  fl:yle  was  alm.ed  at,  as  far 
as  was  fafe.  The  following  are  the  mofi:  remarkable  alter- 
ations propofed  : 

To  change  the  rules  of  defcent,  fo  as  that  the  lands  of 
any  perfon  dying  intefi:ate  fhall  be  divifible  equally  among 
all  his  children,  or  other  reprefentatives,  in  equal  degree. 

To  make  flaves  difiributable  among  the  next  of  kin,  as 
other  moveables. 

To  have  all  public  expences,  whether  of  the  general 
treafury,  or  of  a  parifli  or  county,  (as  for  the  main- 
tenance of  the  poor,  building  bridges,  court-houfes,  &c.) 
fupplied  by  afiefiments  on  the  citizens,  in  proportion  to 
their  property. 


(    »-M    ) 

To  hire  undertakers  for  kc'cping  the  public  ronds  in  re- 
pair, and  indemnity  individuals  through  whole  lands  new 
roads  Ihall  be  openv.d. 

To  deline  with  precifion  the  rules?  whereby  aliens  fliould 
l^ecome  citizens,  and  citizeni  make  themfelvcs  aliens. 

To  edablifli  rcli;.',ious  IrL^edom  on  the  broadcit  bottom. 

To  emancipate  all  ilaves  born  alter  paliing  the  aci.     The 
bill  reported   by  the   revifors   docs  not  itlelt   contain  this 
propolition;   but  an  amendment  containing  it  was  prt:par- 
ed,  to  be  oiTered  to  the  legiilature  whenever  the  bill  /hould 
be  taken  up,  and  further  diredin*^,  that  they  Ihould  con- 
tinue with  their  parents  to  a  certiiin  ago,  then  be  brought 
up  at  the  public  cxpence,  to  tillage,  arts  or  fcienees,  ac- 
cording to  their  geniufes,    till  the  females  ihould  be  18, 
and  the  males  21   years  of  age,  when  they  fiiould  be  co- 
lonized to  fuch  place  as  tlie  circumltan  ces  of  the  rime  Ihould 
render  molt  proper,  fending  them  out  with  arms,  imple- 
ments of  houdiold  and  of  the  handicraft  arts,  feeds,  pairs 
of  the  ufeful  domellic  animals,  ^c.   to  declare  them  a  free 
and  independent  people,  and  extend  to  them  our  alliance 
and  protcdion,  till   they  have   acquired   ftrength  ;  and   to 
fend  velfels  at  the  fame  time  to  other  parts  of  the  world  for 
an  equal  number  of  white  inhabitants;  to  induce  whom  to 
migrate  hither,  proper  encouragements  were  to  be  propofed." 
It  will  probably  be  aiked.   Why  not  retain  and  incorporate 
the  blacks  into  the  flatc,  and  thus  fave  the  expence  of  fup- 
plying  by  importation  of  white  fettlers,  the  vacancies  they 
will    leave  ?     Deep   rooted  prejudices   entertained   by  the 
whites  ;  ten  thoufand  recolledions,  by  the  blacks,  of  the 
injuries  they   have  fuflained;  new   provocations;   the  real 
didinctions  which  nature  has  made  ;    and  many  other  cir- 
cumflances,  will  divide  us  into  parties,  and  f  roduce  con- 
vulfions,  which  will  probably  never  end  but  in  the  extermi- 
nation of  the  one  or  the    other  race.     To  thefe  objedions, 
which  are  political,  may  be  added  others,  which  are  phyfi- 
cal  and  moral.     The  firil  ditfercnce  which  (Irikes  us  is  that 
of  colour.     Whether  the  black  of  the  negro  refides  in  the 
reticular  membrane  between  the  ikin  and  the  fcarf-fl^in,  or 
in  the  fcarf-dvinitfelf;  whether  it  proceeds  from  the  colour 
of  the  blood,  the  colour  of  the  bile,  or  from  that  of  fome 
other  fecretion,  the  difference  is  fixed  in  nature,  and  is  as 

T 


'       (      142      ) 

« 

teal  as  if  Its  feat  nnJ  cnufe  were  better  knownto  us.  And 
is  this  difference  ot  no  importance  ?  Is  it  not  the  foundation 
of  a  greater  or  lefs  fhare  of  beauty  in  the  two  races  ?  Are 
net  the  fine  mixtures  of  red  and  white,  the  exprefiions  of  e- 
very  pafiiori  by  greater  or  lefs  fuffufions  of  colour  in  the  one 
preferable  to  that  eternal  monotony,  which  rdgns  in  the 
cf^'untenances,  that  immoveable  veil  of  bhick  which  covers 
all  the  emotions  of  the  other  race  ?  Add  to  thefe,  flowing 
hair,  a  more  elegant  fymmetfy  of  form,  their  own  judgment 
in  favour  of  the  whites,  declared  by  their  preference  ot  them, 
as  uniformly  as  is  the  preference  of  the  Oranootan  for  the 
black  women  over  thofe  of  his  own  fpecies.  The  circum- 
flance  of  fuperior  beauty,  is  thought  worthy  attention  in  the 
propagation  of  our  horfes,  dogs,  and  other  domellic  ani- 
mals ;  why  not  in  that  of  man  ?  Befides  thofe  of  colour, fi- 
gure, and  hair,  there  are  other  phyfical  diflinflions  proving 
a  ditierence  of  race.  They  have  lefs  hair  on  the  face  and 
body.  They  fecrete  lefs  by  the  kidnies,  and  more  by  the 
glands  of  the  fkin,  which  gives  them  a  very  (Irong  and 
difagreeable  odour.  This  greater  degree  of  tranfpiration 
renders  them  more  tolerant  of  heat,  and  lefs  fo  of  cold  than 
the  whites.  Perhaps  too  a  difference  of  ftrudure  in  the  pul- 
monary apparatus,  which  a  late  ingenious*  experimentalifl 
has  dilcovered  to  be  the  principal  regulator  of  animal  heat, 
may  have  dilabled  them  from  extricating,  in  the  a£l  of  in- 
fpiraiion,  fo  much  of  that  fluid  from  the  outer  air,  or  oblig- 
ed them  in  expiration,  to  part  with  more  of  it.  Theyfeem 
to  require  lefs  fleep.  A  black  after  hard  labour  through 
the  day,  will  be  induced  by  the  flighted  amufements  to  fit 
up  till  midnight,  or  later  though  knowing  he  mufl  be  out 
with  the  firit  dawn  of  the  morning.  They  are  at  lead  as 
brave,  and  i*ore  adventurefome.  But  this  may  perhaps 
proceed  from  a  want  of  fore-thought,  which  prevents  their 
Iccing  a  danger  till  it  be  prefent.  When  prcfent,  they  do 
not  go  through  it  Vv'ith  more  coolnefs  or  fteadinefs  than  the 
whiles.  They  are  more  ardent  alter  their  female  :  but  love 
feems  with  them  to  be  more  an  eager  dcfire,  than  a  tender 
delicate  mixture  of  fentiment  and  fenfation.  Their  grieis 
are  tranfient.  Thofe  numberlefs  afliiciions,  which  render 
it  doubtiul  whether  heaven  has  given  life  to  us  in  mercy  or 

*  C  rawford. 


C     i.'3     ) 

m  wrath,  are  lefs  felt,  and  fooner  foro^otten  with  them,  la 
|:;enertl,  their  exiltence  appears  to  p;irtieipate  more  of  feu- 
iation  than  refle6Hon.  To  this  inufl  be  aferibed  iheir  tiifpo- 
lition  to  llecp  when  abltraded  IVoni  their  diverlioiis,  and 
unemployed  in  labour.  An  animal  whofe  body  is  at  reft, 
and  who  docs  not  relied,  mull  be  dirpofed  to  llcep  orcourfe. 
Comparing  them  by  their  facujties  oF  memory,  real'on,  and 
imagination,  it  appears  to  me  that  in  memory  they  are  equal 
to  the  whites  ;  in  realbn  much  inferior,  as  1  think  one  could 
Scarcely  be  found  capable  of  tracing  and  comprehending 
the  invefligations  of  Kuclid  ;  and  that  in  imagination  they 
are  dull,  taltelefs,  and  anamolou^.  It  would  be  unfair  to 
follow  them  to  Africa  for  this  inveiligation.  We  will  confi- 
der  them  here,  on  the  fame  ftage  with  the  whites,  and  where 
the  facts  are  not  apocryphal  on  which  a  judgement  is  to  be 
formed.  It  will  be  right  to  make  great  allowances  for  the 
difference  of  condition,  of  education,  of  converfation,  of 
the  fphere  In  which  they  move.  Many  millions  of  them  have 
been  brought  to,  and  born  in  America.  Moftofthem  in- 
deed  have  been  confined  to  tillage,  to  their  own  homes,  and 
their  own  foclety  :  yet  many  have  been  fo  fituated,  that  they 
might  have  availed  themfelves  of  the  converfation  of  their 
mailers  ;  many  have  been  brought  up  to  the  handicraft  arts, 
and  from  that  circumflance  have  always  been  alTocIared  with 
the  whites.  Some  have  been  liberally  educated,  and  all 
have  lived,  in  countries  where  the  arts  and  fciences  are  culti- 
vated to  a  confiderable  degree,  and  have  had  before  their 
eyes  famples  of  the  bell  works  from  abroad.  The  Indians, 
with  no  advantages  of  this  kind,  will  often  carve  figures  on 
their  pipes  not  deflitute  of  defign  and  merit.  They  will 
crayon  out  an  animal,  a  plant,  or  a  country,  fo  as  to  prove 
the  exiltence  of  a  germ  in  their  minds  which  only  wants 
cultivation.  They  altonifli  you  with  (Irokes  of  the  mod  fub- 
llme  oratory;  fuch  as  prove  their  rcafon  and  fentiment  (Irong, 
their  imagination  glowing  and  elevated.  l5ut  never  yet 
could  I  find  that  a  black  had  uttered  a  thought  above  the 
level  of  plain  narration  ;  never  fee  even  an  ekmentary  trait 
of  painting  or  fculplure.  In  mufic  they  are  more  generally 
gifted  than  the  vi'hites  with  accurate  ears  for  tune  and  time, 
and  they  have  been   found  capable  of  imagining  a  finall 

T2 


k 


(      144     ) 

catch*.  Whether  they  will  be  equal  to  the  compofition  of 
a  more  extenfive  run  of  melndy,  or  of  complicated  harmo- 
ny, is  yet  to  be  proved.  JVlifery  is  often  the  parent  of  the 
inoft  effefting  touches  in  poetry.  Among  the  blacks  is  mi- 
fery  enough,  God  knows,  but  no  poetry.  Love  is  the  pecu- 
liar cefirum  of  the  poet.  Their  love  is  ardent,  but  it  kin- 
dles the  fenfes  only,  not  the  imagination.  Rehgion  indeed 
has  produced  a  PhylKs  Vv^hately  ;  but  it  could  not  produce 
n.  poet.  The  compofitioRs  publiflied  under  her  name  are 
belovi^  the  dignity  of  criticifm.  The  heroes  of  the  Dunciad 
are  to  her  as  Hercules  to  the  author  of  that  poem.  Ignatius 
Sancho  has  approached  nearer  to  merit  in  compofition  ;  yet 
his  letters  do  more  honour  to  the  heart  than  the  head.  They 
breathe  the  purefl  efrufions  of  friendfhip  and  general  philan- 
thropy, and  fliow  hovi^  great  a  degree  of  the  latter  may  be 
compounded  with  flrong  religious  zeal.  lie  is  often  happy 
in  the  turn  of  his  compHments,  and  his  ftyle  is  eafy  and  fa- 
jnihar,  except  when  he  aflecls  a  Shandean  fabrication  of 
•uords.  Bat  his  imagination  is  wild  and  extravagant,  efcapes 
inceffantly  from  every  rePtraint  of  reafon  and  tafle,  and  in 
the  coun'c  of  its  vagaries,  leaves  a  tract  of  thought  as  inco- 
herent and  eccentric,  as  is  the  courfe  of  a  meteor  throuf^h 
the  fsy.  Kis  fubjefts  (hould  often  have  led  him  to  a  procefs 
of  fober  reafoning  :  yet  we  find  him  always  fubftitiitin«- 
fentiment  fordemonftration.  Upon  thewhole,  though  wead- 
mit  him  to  the  firft  place  among  thofe  ol  his  own  colour  who 
have  prefented  thcmfelves  to  (he  public  judgment,  yet  when 
"we  compare  him  with  the  writers  of  the  race  am.ong  v^hom- 
he  lived  and  particularly  with  the  epiftoiary  clafs,  in  which 
he  has  taken  bis  own  ftand,  we  are  compelled  to  enroll  him 
at  the  bottom  of  the  colunin.  1  his  criticilm  fuppofes  the 
letters  publifhcd  under  his  name  to  be  genuine,  and  to  have  • 
ree-civecl  amcr.dment  from  no  other  hand  j  points  which 
uojld  not  be  of  Ciilv  invelti<T:ition. 

The  improvement  of  the  blacks  in  body  and  mind,  in 
the  hriL  hihance  of  their  r^ixrure  with  the  whites,  has  been 
oblerved  by  every  one,  and  proves  that  their  inferiority  is 
not  the  eilcO"  merely  of  their  condition  of  lije.  We'  know 
th:it  among  the  Rcnums,  about  the  Augulian  age  efpecially, 

*  'i  lie  iiirtriim!  nr  proper  to  ti^etn  is  ilie  Hanja),  wiiich  tlie^'  hrtnio^lit 
V'Oer  from  Aiiicp.,  kjvI  which  is  rle  orliv'nal  ut  tlie  guitaiv,  hs  cl.orci'? 
lei  g  jrtciiely  th3  lo\ic  lower  cio  ds  o!'  t'uc  g  liiar. 


C     145     ) 

the  condition  of  their  (laves  was  mucli  more  deplorable 
than  that  cf  the  blacks  on  the  continent  of  America.  Thctwo 
fexes  were  Confined  in  feparate  apartments,  becaufe  to  raife 
a  child  coft  the  mafter  more  than  to  buy  one.  Cato,  for  a 
very  redrided  indul;^ence  to  his  flaves  in  this  particular,* 
took  from  them  a  certain  price.  But  in  this  country  the 
Haves  multiply  as  faft  as  the  free  inhabitants.  Their  fituati- 
onand  manners  placei  the  commerce  between  the  two  fexes 
almoll  without  reftraint. — The  fame  Cato,  on  a  principle  of 
ccconomy,  always  fold  his  fick  and  fuperannuated  flaves. 
He  gives  it  as  a  {landing  precept  to  a  mafter  vifiting  his  farm, 
to  fell  his  old  oxen,  old  waggons,  old  tools,  old  and  difeaf- 
ed  fervants,  and  every  thing  elfe  become  ufelefs.  '  Vcndat 
*  boves  vetulos,  plauftrum,  vetus,  ferramenta  vetera,  fervuni 
'  fenem,fervum  morbofum,  &  fi  quid  aliud  fuperfit  vendat.* 
Cato  dere  ruflica.  c.  2.  The  Am.erican  flaves  cannot  enu- 
merate this  among  the  injuries  and  infults  they  receive.  It 
was  the  common  pra6lice  to  expofe  in  the  Ifland  of  iEfcu- 
laplus,  in  the  Tyber,  difeafed  flaves,  whofe  cure  was  like  to 
become  tedious. f  The  emperor  Claudius,  by  an  edict,  gave 
freedom  to  fuch  of  them  as  fliould  recover,  and  firfl  declar- 
ed that  if  any  perfon  chofe  to  kill  rather  than  expofe  them, 
it  fliould  be  deemed  homicide.  The  expofmg  them  is  a 
crime  of  which  no  inftance  has  exifted  with  us  ;  and  were 
it. to  be  followed  by  death,  it  would  be  puniflied  capitally. 
We  are  told  of  a  certain  VediusPollio,  who,  in  the  prefence 
of  Auguftus,  would  have  given  a  flave  as  food  tohisfifli,  for 
having  broken  a  glafs.  With  the  Romans,  the  regular  me- 
thod of  taking  the  evidence  of  their  flaves  was  under  torture. 
Here  it  has  been  thought  better  never  to  refort  to  their  e- 
vidence.  When  a  mafter  was  murdered,  all  his  flaves,  in  the 
fam.e  houfe,  or  within  hearing,  were  condemned  to  death. 
Here  punifliment  falls  on  the  guilty  only,  and  as  precifa 
proof  is  required  againft  him  as  againft  a  freeman.  Yet 
notwithftanding  thefe  and  other  difcouraging  circumft?nces 
among  the  Romans,  their  flaves  were  often  their  rareft  art- 
ifts.  They  excelled  too  in  fcience,  infomuch  as  to  be  ufu- 
ally  employed  as  tutors  to  their  mafter's  children.  Epicle- 
tus,  Terence,  and  Pha;drus,  were  flaves.  But  they  were  of 
the  race  of  whites.  It  is  not  their  condition  then,  but  na- 
ture, which  has  produced  the  diftinftion. — Whether  fur- 

*  Tous  doiilous  etnxen  orilhiciou  nomcimatos  honiilein  tais  therapain- 
ifin.  Plutarch.  Cato. 
t  ^ic:.    ClauJ.  -;. 


(     146     ) 

ther  bbfervatlon  will  or  v;ill  not  verify  the  cunje£lure,  that 
nature  has  been  lefs  bountiful  to  them  in  the 'endowments 
of  the  head,  I  believe  that  in  thofe  of  the  heait  ihe.  v.ill  be 
found  to  have  done  them  juflice.  That  difpofition  to  theft 
with  which  they  have  been  branded,  mufi  be  afcribed  to 
their  fituation,  and  not  to  any  depravity  of  the  moral  ftnfe. 
The  man,  in  whofe  favour  no  laws  of  property  exift,  pro- 
bably feels  himl'elf  lefs  bound  to  refpecl  thofe  made  in  fa- 
vourof  others.  When  arguing  for  ourfelves,  we  lay  it  down 
as  a  fundamental,  that  laws,  to  be  juft,  mult  give  a  reciproca- 
tion of  right  :  that,  without  this,  they  are  mere  arbitrary 
rules  of  condud,  founded  in  force  and  not  in  confcience  : 
and  it  is  a  problem  which  I  give  to  the  mafter  to  folve,  whe- 
ther the  religious  precepts  againft  the  violation  of  property 
were  not  framed  for  him  as  well  as  his  fiave?  And  w^hether 
the  flave  may  not  as  juftifiably  take  a  little  from  one,  who  has 
taken  all  from  him,  as  he  may  fiay  one  who  would  Hay  him; 
That  a  change  in  the  relations  in  which  a  man  is  placed 
fnould  change  his  Ideas  of  moral  right  and  wrong,  is  neiiher 
new^,  nor  peculiar  to  the  colour  of  the  blacks.  Homer  tellij 
usitv.asfo  2600  year  ago. 

*  Emifa,  gcr  t'  aretes  apoainutai  enruopa  7.eus 

Hatieros,  eut'  an  min  katadoulion  emaeiefin,         Oi.  IJ.  S"3' 

^Qve  jix'd  it  certain^  that  ivhatever  day 

Makes  man  afiave  takes  half  his  ivorih  azcay. 

But  the  flaves  of  which  Homer  fpeaks  were  whites.  Not- 
withdanding  thefe  confiderations  which  muft  weaken  their 
refpeft  for  the  laws  of  property,  we  find  among  them  nume- 
rous inflances  of  the  moft  rigid  integrity,  and  as  many  as  a- 
mong  their  better  Inflrutled  mailers,  of  benevolence,  grati- 
tude, and  unfhaken  fidelity. — The  opinion,  that  iliey  are  in- 
ferior in  the  faculties  of  reafon  and  imagination,  muil  be 
hazarded  with  great  diffidence.  To  juftify  a  general  con- 
clufion,  requires  many  obfervations,  even  where  the  fubjcdt 
may  be  fubmitted  to  the  anatomical  knife,  to  optical  glaffes, 
to  analyfis  by  fire,  or  by  folvencs.  How  much  mere  then 
where  it  is  a  facuhy,  not  a  fubftance,  we  are  exaininmg  ; 
where  it  eludes  the  refearch  of  all  the  fenfes  ;  where  the 
condition  of  its  exigence  are  various  and  varloufly  combin- 
ed ;  where  the  elledls  of  thofe  which  are  prefent  or  abfent 
bid  defiance  to  calculation  5  let  mc  add  too,  as  a  circumltance 


(      147     ) 

of  great  tenJcrncfs,  where  our   conclufion  would  degrade  a 
whole    race  of    men  from   the  rank   i:i  the  fcale  of  beings 
which  their  Creator  perhaps  may  have  given  them.     To  our 
reproach  it  mu!t  befaid,lhat  though  tor  a  century  and  a  half 
we  have  had  under  our  eyes  the  races  of  black  and  of  red 
men,  they  have   never  yet  been  viewed  by  us  as  lubjedts  of 
natural  hiftory.     I  advance  it  therefore  as  a  fuipicion  only, 
that  the  blacks  whether  originally    a  diflind  race,  or  made 
diilinct  by  lime  and  circumlhinces,  arc  inferior  to  the  whites 
in  the  endowments  both  of  body  and  mind.  It  is  not  agairJt 
experience  to  luppofe,  that  diflercnt  fpecies  of  the  fame  ge- 
nius or  varieties  of  the  fame  fpecies,  may  polfcfs  different 
qualifications.     Will  not  a  lover  of  natural  hillory  then, one 
who   views  the  gradations  in  all  the  races  of  animals  with 
the  eye  of    philofophy,  excufe   an   cHbrt  to  keep    thofe  in 
the  department  of  man  as  diftincl:  as  nature   has    formed 
them  ?  This  unfortunate  dilFerence  of  colour,  and  perhaps 
rf  faculty,  is  a  powerful    obilacle  to   the  emancipation  of 
thefe  people.     Many  of  their   advocates  .while  they  wifli  to 
vindicate  the  liberty  of  human  nature  are  anxious  alfo  to 
preferve  its  dignity  and  beauty.     Some  of  thefe,  embarraf- 
fed  by  the  quellion  '  What  further  is  to  be  done  withthem*  ? 
join  themfelves  in  oppofition    with  thofe  who  arc  actuated 
by  fordid  avarice  only.     Among  the  Romans  emancipation 
required  but  one  effort.    .The  flave,  when  made  free,  might 
mix  with,  without  flaining  the  blood  of  his  mafter.     But 
with  us  a  fecond  is  neceffary  unknown  to  hitlory.     When 
freed,  he  is  to  be  removed  beyond  the  reach  of  mixture. 
The  Tcvifed  code  further  propofes  to   proportion  crimes 
and  punifhments.     This  is  attempted  on  the  fcale  in  the  fol- 
lowing page. 

Pardon  and  privilege  of  clergy  are  propofed  tO'be  abolifhed, 
but  if  the  verdict  be  againft  the  defendant,  the  court  in 
their  difcretion  may  allow  a  new  trial.  No  attainder  to  caufe 
a  corruption  of  blood,  or  forfeiture  of  dower.  Slaves  guilty 
ot  olTences  punilhable  in  others  by  labour,  to  be  tranfported 
to  Africa,  or  elfewherc,  as  the  circumftances  of  the  time 
admit,  there  to  be  continued  in  flavery.  A  rigorous  regimen 
propofed  for  thofe  condemned  to  labour. 

Another  object  of  the  revifal  ij,  to  dilTufe  knowledge  more 
generally  through  the  mafs  of  the  people.  This  bill  propofes 
to  lay  olf  every  county  into  fmall  dilhicls  of  ftveor  lix  miles 


(     h8     ) 


15  B 


ti 


O         ^ 


O    C         -I 


o^ 


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Ci   Cn'TvJ   M   c-t   cr.  Tj-unsO   t^OO    C^O    >-i   rl   r*^ 


(      M9     ) 

f.|ii:ire,  called  hunJ.reds,  and  in  each  of  tlie.n  to  eflabllHi  a 
f<:hool  for  te idling  readintj^,  writing  and  arithmetic.  The 
tutor  to  be  fapp.^jrted  by  the  hu-ulreJ  and  every  perlcn  in 
k  entitled  to  lend  their  children  three  years  gratis,  and  as 
much  longer  as  they  pleafe,  paying  lor  it.  Thefe  fchools  to 
be  under  a  vifitor  who  is  annually  to  chufe  the  b.)y,  of  belt 
genius  in  the  i'chool,  of  thole  whofj  parents  arc  too  poor  to 
give  thetn  further  education,  and  to  fend  hisn  forward  to  one 
of  the  grammar  fchools,  of  which  twenty  are  propofed  to  be 
er'ifted  in  dilFerent  parts  of  the  country,  for  teaching  Greek, 
Ln.tin,  Geography,  and  the  higher  branches  of  numerical 
arith.netic.  Of  the  boys  thus  fent  in  one  year,  trial  is  to  be 
ma  je  at  the  grammar  fchools  one  or  two  years,  and  the  be(t 
genius  of  the  whole  fele£led,  and  continued  fix  years,  and 
the  refidiie  difmilled.  By  this  means  twenty  of  the  befl  ge- 
nu fes  will  be  rc.ked  from  the  rubbiih  annually,  and  be  in- 
flru^led,  at  the  public  expence,  fofar  as  the  grammar  fchools 
go.  At  the  end  of  fix  years  inflruclion,  one  half  are  to  be 
difcontinued  (from  among  whom  the  grammar  fchools  will 
probably  be  fupplied  with  future  maflers  ; )  and  the  other 
half,  who  are  to  be  chofen  for  the  fuperiority  of  their  parts 
and  difpofition,  are  to  be  fent  and  cojitinued  three  years  ia 
the  lludy  of  J'uch  fciences  as  they  Ihall  chufe,  at  William 
and  Mary  college,  the  plan  of  which  is  propofed  to  be  en- 
larged, as  will  be  hereafter  explained,  and  extended  to  ail 
the  ufeful  fciences.  The  ultimate  refult  of  the  whole  fcheme 
of  education  would  be  the  teaching  all  the  children  of  the 
flate  readino:,  writing  and  common  arithmetic  :  turning-  out 
ten  annually  of  fuperior  genms,  well  taught  in  Greek,  Latin, 
Geography,  and  the  higher  branches  of  arithmetic  :  turn- 
ing out  ten  others  annually,  of  fi:ill  fuperior  parts,  who,  to 
thofe  branches  of  learning,  ijiall  have  added  fuch  of  the 
fciences  as  their  genius  (liall  have  led  them  to  :  the  furnifh- 
ing  to  the  wealthier  part  of  the  people  convenient  fchools, 
at  which  their  children  may  be  educated  at  their  own  ex- 
pence.  The  general  objects  of  this  law  are  to  provide  an 
educition  adapted  to  the  years,  to  the  capacity,  and  the  con- 
dition of  every  one,  and  diredted  to  their  freedom  and  hap- 
pinefs.  Specific  details  were  not  proper  for  the  law.  Thefe 
muft  be  the  bufinefs  of  the  vifitors  entrufi:ed  with  its  execu- 
tion.    The  firft  (tage  of  this  education  being  the  fchools  of 

U 


(     ^5°     ) 

the  hundreds,  wherein  the  great  mafs  of  the  people  will  re- 
ceive their  inllruction,  the  principal  foundations  of  future 
order  will  be  laid  here.  Inftead  therefore  of  putting  the  Bi- 
ble and  Tellament  into  the  hands  of  the  children  at  an  age 
when  their  judgments  are  not  fufficiently  matured  for  religi- 
ous enquiries,  their  memories  may  here  be  ftored  with  the 
molt   ufeful  facls    from  Grecian,  Roman,  European,   and 
American  hillory.     The  firft  elements  of  morality  too  may 
be  inftilled  into  their  minds ;  fuch  as,  vyhen  furtljer  develop- 
ed as  their  judgments  tidvance  in  ftrength,  may  teach  them 
how  to  work  out  their  own  greatefl  happinefs,  by  ihewing 
them  that  it  does  not  depend  on  the  condition  of  life  in  which 
ch^mcG  has  placed  them,  but  is  ahvays  the  refult  of  a  good 
confcience,  good    health,  occupation,  and  freedom  in  all 
juft  purfuits.  Thofe  vthom  either  the  v^ealth  of  their  parents 
or  the  adoption  of  the  ftate  fliall  deftin^to  higher  degrees  of 
learning,  will  go  on  to  the  grammar  fchools,  which  confli- 
tute  the  next  ftage,  there  to  be  inftrutted  in  the  languages. 
The  learning  Greek  and  Latin,  I  am  told,  is  going  into  dif- 
ufe  in  Europe.     I  know  not  what  their  manners  and  occu- 
pations may  call  for  :  but  it  would  be  very  ill-judged  in  us  to 
follow  their  example  in  this  inftance.  There  is  a  certain  pe- 
riod of  life,  fay  from  eight  to  fifteen  or  fixteen  years  of  age, 
when  the  r.iind  like  the  body  is  not  yet  firm  enough  for  la- 
borious and  clofe  operations.     If  applied  to  fuch,  it  falls  an 
early  victim  to  premature  exerticn:  exhibiting  indeed  at  firff, 
in  thefe  young  and  tender  fubjefts,  the  flattering  appearance 
of  their  being  m.en  while  they  are  yet  children,  but  ending- 
in  reducing  them  to  be  children  when  they  fliould  be  men. 
The  memory  is  then  mofl  fufceptible  and  tenacious  of  im- 
preflions ;  and  the  learning  of  languages  being  chiefly  a  work 
of  memory,  it  feem.s  precifely  htted  to  the  powers  of  this 
period,  which  is  long  enough  too  for  acquiring  the  moft  ufe- 
ful languages  ancient  and   modern.     I  do  not  pretend   that 
language  is  fclence.    It  is  only  an  inftrument  for  the  attain- 
ment of  fciehce.   But  that  time  is  not  loft  which  is  employed 
in  providing  tools  for  future  operation  :  more   efpecially  as 
in  this  c^fe  the  books  put  into  the  hands  of  the  youth  for  this 
purpdfe  may  be  iuch  as  will  at  the  fame  time  imprefs  their 
,    Hi  nds  with  ufeful  fads  and  good  principles.     If  this  period 
.befuifc.red  to  pais  in  idlenefs,  the  mind  becomes  lethargic 
and  impotent,  as  would  the  body  it  inhabits  if  unexercifed 


• 
tiuring  the  fame  time.  The  iynipatliy  between  body  dnd 
mind  daring  their  rife,  progreis  and  decHnc,  is  too  Itrift 
nnd  obvious  to  endpnger  our  being  milled  while  wc  rcalon 
from  the  one  to  the  other.  As  foon  as  they  areoFfunicitrut 
age,  it  is  fuppofed  they  will  be  fcnt  on  from  the  grammar 
fchools  to  the  univerfity,  which  conllitutes  our  third,  and 
lad  (lage,  there  to  iludy  ihofe  fcienccs  which  may  be  adapted 
to  their  viev/s.  By  that  part  of  our  plan  which  prefcribcs 
the  feleclion  of  the  youths  of  genius  from  among  the  clafles 
of  the  poor,  we  hope  to  avail  thcihite  of  tliofe  talents  wdiich 
nature  has  fown  as  liberally  among  the  poor  as  the  rich,  but 
which  pcrifii  without  ufe,  il  not  iought  for  and  cultivated. 
Butof  thevicvvsof  this  lawnoneismore  important,  nonemore 
legitimate,  than  that  of  rendering  the  people  the  fate,  as  they 
are  the  ultimate  guardians  of  their  own  liberty..  For  this 
purpofe  the  reading  in  the  firll  fcage,  where  they  will  receive 
their  whole  education,  is  propofed,  as  has  beenfaid,  to  be 
chieHy  hi  ^orical.  Hiitory  by  apprifing  them  of  the  i)a[l  will 
enable  them  to  judge  of  the  future  ;  it  will  avail  them  of 
the  experience  of  other  times  and  other  nations  ;  it  will  qua- 
lify them  as  judges  of  the  actions  and  defigns  of  men  ;  it 
will  enable  them  to  know  ambition  under  every  difguife  it 
mayaflume;  and  knowing  it  to  defeat  its  views.  In  every 
government  on  earth  is  fome  trace  of  human  u'eaknefs,  fome 
germ  of  corruption  and  degeneracy,  which  cunning  will 
difcover,  and  wickednefs  infenfibly  open,  cultivate  and  im- 
prove, t  very  government  degenerates  when  trulled  to  the 
rulers  of  the  people  alone.  The  people  themfelves  therefore 
are  its  only  fafe  depofitories.  And  to  render  even  them  fafe 
tlieir  minds  muft  be  improved  to  a  certain  degree.  This 
Indeed  is  not  all  that  is  necefi'ary,  though  it  be  eflcntialiy 
neceflary.  An  amendment  of  our  conititution  mull;  here 
come  in  aid  of  the  public  education.  The  influence  over 
government  mufl  be  fliared  among  all  the  people.  If  every 
individual  which  compofes  their  mafs  participates  of  the  ul- 
timate authority,  the  government  will  be  fate  ;  becauie  the 
corrupting  the  whole  mafs  will  exceed  any  private  refources 
of  wealth  :  and  public  ones  cannot  be  provided  but  by  levies 
on  the  people.  In  this  cafe  evefy  man  would  have  to  pay 
his  own  price.  The  government  of  Great  Britain  has  been 
corripted,  becaufe  but  one  man  in  ten  has  a  right  to  vote 

U2 


•..-■•  (     '5^    )    • 

for  metnbcrs  of  parliament.  I'lie  fellers  of  the  government 
therefore  get  nine-tenths  of  their  price  clear.  It  has  been 
thought  thrit  corruption  is  reflrained  by  confining  the  right 
of  fuifrage  to  a  few  of  the  wealthier  of  the  people  :  but  it 
would  be  more  efFeftually  reilrained  by  an  extenfion  of  that 
right  to  fuch  numbers  as  would  bid  defiance  to  the  means 
or  corruption. 

Lailiy,  it  is  propofed,  by  a  bill  in  this  revifal,  to  begin  a 
public  library  and  gallery,  by  laying  out  a  certain  fum  an- 
nually in  books,  paintings,  and  Ifatutes. 


^EKT  XV. 

_|_  II-E  colleges  and  public  e/iabliJJnuenis,  the  roads ^  lu'ild- 
ings,  iscJ 

The  college  of  William  and  Mary  is  the  only  public  femi- 
nary  of  learning  in  this  (late.  It  was  founded  in  the  time  of 
King  William  and  C)^uccn  Mary,  who  granted  to  it  20,000 
£icres  of  land,  and  a  penny  a  pound  duty  on  certain  tobaccces 
exported  from  Virginia  and  Maryland,  which  had  been  le- 
vied by  the  ftatute  of  25  Car.  2.  The  alVcmbly  alio  gave  it, 
by  temporary  laws,  a  duty  on  liquors  imported,  and  fl-:ins 
iind  furs  exported.  From  thefe  refources  it  received  upwards 
of  3000I.  communibus  annis.  The  buildings  are  of  Irick, 
lufiicient  for  an  indiflerent  accommodation  of  perhaps  an 
hundred  O.udcnts.  By  its  charter  it  was  to  be  under  the 
government  of  tv.  enty  vifitors,  who  were  to  be  its  Icgijdators, 
imd  to  have  a  prefident  and  fix  profelfors,  who  were  incor- 
]->orated.  It  was  allowed  a  reprefentative  in  the  general  af- 
fembly.  Under  this  charier,  a  profefiorliiip  of  the  Greek 
raid  Latin  languages,  a  proftliorfhip  ol  mathematics,  one  of 
moral  philofophy,  and  two  of  divinity,  wtre  eftr.blifiicd. — 
'J'o  thefe  were  annexed,  for  a  fixth  profellorlliip,  a  confi- 
derable  donation  by  Tvlr.  Boyle,  of  England,  for  the  inflruc- 
tion  of  the  Indians,  and  their  converlion  to  Chriflianity. 
'll^.is  was  called  the  prolelloilhip  of  Brallerton,  from  an  eflate 
ol  that  name  in  F.nglaud,  purchafcd  with  the  monies  given, 
'ihe  admiflion  of  tlie  Uarnus  of  Latin  and  Greek  filled  the 


(     '53     ) 

college  wlili  chilJren.  This  rendering  it  difagrceable  and 
degrading  to  young  gentlemen  already  prepared  for  tnttiing 
on  the  fcienccs,  they  were  difcouraged  from  rcfortin^  to  it, 
and  thus  the  Ichools  for  matlieinatics  and  moral  philolbphv, 
which  might  have  been  of  fome  fervice,  became  of  very  lit- 
tle. The  revenues  too  were  exhaulted  in  accommodating 
thofe  who  came  only  to  acquire  the  rudiments  of  fciencc. — 
After  the  prefent  revolution,  '.he  vihtors,  having  no  power 
to  change  thofe  circumlhmces  in  the  conflituticm  of  the  col- 
lege which  were  fixed  by  the  charter,  and  being  therefore 
confined  in  thenumber  of  profelVorfhips,  undertook  to  change 
the  objecls  of  the  profelforfhips.  They  excluded  the  two 
fcliools  for  divinity,  and  that  for  the  Greek  and  Latin  lan- 
guages, and  fubliituted  others ;  fo  that  at  prefent  they  Hand 
thus : 

A  ProfefTorfliip  for  Law  and  Police  : 
Anatomy  and  Medicine  : 
^Natural  Philofophy  and  Mathematics  : 
Moral  Philofophy,  the  Law  of  Nature  and 

Nations,  the  Fine  Arts  : 
Modern  Languages : 
Tor  the  Braif'erton. 
And  it  Is  propofed,  fo  foon  as  the  Icgiflature  fhall  have 
leifure  to  take  up  this  fubjeft,  to  defire  authority  from  them 
to  increafe  the  number  of  profelforihips,  as  well  for  the 
purpofe  of  fubdividing  thofe  already  inftituted,  as  of  adding 
others  for  other  branches  of  fcience.  To  the  profeirorHiips 
ufually  eftablifhed  in  the  univerfities  of  J'^urope,  it  would 
feem  proper  to  add  one  for  the  ancient  languages  and  litera- 
ture of  the  North,  on  account  of  their  connexion  with  our 
own  language,  laws,  cuflcnis,  and  hiflory.  The  purpofes 
of  the  Bratierton  inftitution  would  be  better  anfwered  by 
maintaining  a  perpetual  miflion  among  the  Indian  tribes, 
the  obj  Jcf  of  which,  behdes  inflrucf  ing  them  in  the  principles 
of  Chriftianity,  a?  the  founder  requires,  fhould  be  to  collect 
their  traditions,  laws,  cuftoms,  languages,  and  other  cir- 
cumflances  which  might  lead  to  a  dilcovery  or  their  relation 
with  one  another,  or  defcent  from  other  nations.  When 
thefe  objeilts  are  accomplifhed  with  one  tribe,  mifTionary 
might  pafs  on  to  another. 

The  roads  are  under  the  government  of  the  county  courts, 
fubjed  to  be  controuled  by  the  general  court.     They  order 


(     ^54     ) 

new  roads  to  be  opened  wherever  they  think fhemnecelTary, 
The  inhabitants  of  the  county  are  by  them  iaid  off  into  pre- 
cincts, to  each  of  which  they  allot  a  convenient  portion  of 
the  public  roads  to  be  kept  in  repair.  Such  bridges  as  may 
be  built  without  the  affiftance  of  artificers,  they  are  to  build. 
If  the  dream  be  fuch  as  to  require  a  bridge  of  regular  work- 
rnanfliip,  the  court  employs  workmen  to  build  it,  at  the 
cxpence  of  the  whole  county.  If  it  be  too  great  for  the  coun- 
ty, application  is  made  to  the  general  aflembly,  who  author- 
ife  individuals  to  build  it,  and  to  take  a  fixed  toll  from  all 
palfengers,  or  give  fandion  to  fuch  other  propofition  as  to 
them  appears  reafonable. 

Ferries  are  admitted  only  at  fuch  places  as  are  particular- 
ly pointed  out  by  law,  and  the  rates  of  ferriage  are  fixed. 

Taverns  are  licenfed  by  the  courts,    who  fix  their   rates 
from  time  to  time. 

The  private  buildings  are  very  rarely  confl:ru£ted  of  ilone 
or  brick  J  much  the  greateft  portion  being  of  fcantling  and 
boards,  plaillered  with  lime.  It  is  impoiTible  to  devife  things 
more  ugly,  uncomfortable,  and  happily  more  perifhable. 
There  are  two  or  three  plans,  on  one  of  which,  according 
to  its  fize,  moft  of  the  houfes  in  the  ftate  are  built.  The 
pooreft  people  build  huts  of  logs,  laid  horizontally  in  pens, 
flopping  the  interftices  with  mud.  Thefe  are  warmer  in  win- 
ter, and  cooler  in  fummer,  than  the  more  expenfive  con- 
flruftion  of  fcantling  and  plank.  The  wealthy  are  attentive 
to  the  raifing  of  vegetables,  but  very  little  fo  to  fruits.  The 
poorer  people  attend  to  neither,  living  principally  on  milk 
and  animal  diet.  This  is  the  more  inexcufable,  as  the  climate  ' 
requires  indifpenfably  a  free  ufe  of  vegetable  food,  for  health 
as  wellas  comfort,  and  is  very  friendly  to  the  raifing  of  fruits. 
The  only  public  buildings  worthy  mention  are  the  capitol,- 
the  palace,  the  college,  and  the  hofpital  for  lunatics,  all  of 
them  in  Williamfburgh,  heretofore  the  feat,  of  our  govern- 
ment. The  capitol  is  a  light  and  airy  flrudurc,  with  a  portico 
ill  front  of  two  orders,  the  lower  of  which,  being  Doric,  is 
tolerably  juft  in  its  proportions  and  ornaments,  f^ve  only 
that  the  intercolonations  are  too  large.  The  upper  is.  Ionic, 
much  too  fmall  for  that  on  which  it  is  mounted,  its  orna- 
ments not  proper  to  the  order,  nor  proportioned  within 
t  lemfelves.  It  is  crowned  with  a  pediment,  which  is  too  high 
tor  its  fpan.     Yet,  on  the  whole,,  it  is  the  rjoft  plcafing  piece 


(     >5S     ) 

of  architecture  we  have.  The  pahice  is  nothandfome  with- 
out, but  it  is  Ipacious  and  commodious  within,  is  prettily 
fituated,  and  with  the  grounds  annexed  to  it,  is  capable  of 
being  made  an  clee;ant  feat.  The  college  and  hofp'.tal  are 
rude,  mif-liiapen  piles,  which,  but  that  they  have  roofs, 
would  be  taken  for  brick-kilns. 

There  are  no  other  public  buildings  but  churches  and 
court-houfes,  in  which  no  attempts  are  made  at  elegance. 
Indeed  it  would  not  be  eafy  to  execute  fuch  an  attempt,  as 
a  workman  could  fcarcely  be  found  here  capable  of  drawing 
an  order.  The  genius  of  architecture  feems  to  have  fhed  its 
maledlQions  over  this  land.  Buildings  are  often  ereded, 
by  individuals,  of  confiderable  expence.  To  give  thefe 
fymmetry  and  tafte  would  not  increafe  their  coil.  It  would 
only  change  the  arrangement  of  the  materials,  the  form  and 
combination  of  the  members.  This  would  often  coll  lefs 
than  the  burthen  of  barbarous  ornament  with  which  thele 
buildings  are  fometimes  charged.  But  the  firft  principles  of 
the  art  are  unknown,  and  there  exilts  fcarcely  a  model 
among  us  fufficiently  chafte  to  give  an  idea  of  them.  Archi- 
tedure  being  one  of  the  fine  arts,  and  as  fuch  within  the 
department  of  a  profeflbr  of  the  college,  according  to  the 
new  arrangement,  perhaps  a  fpark  may  fall  on  fome  young 
fubjecls  of  natural  tafte,  kindle  up  their  genius,  and  produce 
a  Veformation  in  this  elegant  and  nfeful  art.  But  all  we 
fliall  do  in  this  way,  will  produce  no  permanent  improve- 
ment to  our  country,  while  the  unhappy  prejudice  prevails 
that  houfes  of  brick  or  (lone  are  lefs  wholefome  than  thofe 
of  wood.  A  dew  is  ofcen  obferved  on  the  v\'alls  of  the  for- 
mer in  rainy  weather,  and  the  moft  obvious  folution  is,  that 
the  rain  has  penetrated  through'  thefe  walls.  The  following 
facts  however,  are  fufficient  to  prove  ti  i  error  of  this  foluti- 
on. I.  This  dew  upon  the  walls  appears  when  there  is  no 
rain,  if  the  (late  of  the  atmofphere  be  moifl.  2.  Ic  appears 
on  the  partition  as  well  as  the  exterior  walls.  3.  So  alfo 
on  pavements  of  brick  or  ftone.  4.  It  is  more  copious  in 
proportion  as  the  walls  are  thicker;  the  revcrfe  of  which 
ought  to  be  the  cafe,  if  this  hypothefis  were  juil.  If  cold 
water  be  poured  into  a  veil'el  of  ilone,  or  glafs,  a  dew  forms 
inflantly  on  the  outfide  :  but  if  it  be  poured  into  a  veflel  of 
wood,  there  is  no  fuch  appearance.  It  is  not  fuppofcd  in 
the  firft  cafe,  that  the  water  has  exuded  through  the  glafs. 


(     >56     ) 

but  that  it  is  precipitated  from  the  circumambient  air  ;  as  the 
humid  particles  of  vapour,  palhng  from  the  boiler  of  an 
alembic  through  its  refrigerant,  are  precipitated  from  the 
air,  in  which  they  were  fufpended,  on  the  internal  furface 
of  the  refrigerant.  Walls  of  brick  or  flone  ad  as  the  re- 
frigerant in  this  inflance.  Ihey  are  fufficiently  cold  to 
condenfe  and  precipitate  the  moillure  fufpended  in  the  air  of 
the  room,  when  it  is  heavily  charged  therewith.  But  walls 
of  wood  are  not  fo.  The  queftion  then  is,  whether  air  in 
which  this  moifture  is  left  floating,  or  that  which  is  deprived 
of  it,  be  mofi:  wholefome  ?  In  both  cafes  the  remedy  is  eafy. 
A  little  fire  kindled  in  the  room,  whenever  the  air  is  damp, 
prevents  the  precipitation  on  the  walls  :  and  this  praQice, 
found  healthy  in  the  warmed  as  well  as  coldefi:  feafons, 
is  as  necelfary  in  a  wooden  as  in  a  ftone  or  brick  houfe. 
I  do  not  mean  to  fay,  that  the  rain  never  penetrates  through 
walls  ot  brick.  On  the  contrary  I  have  feen  inftances  of 
it.  But  with  us  it  is  only  through  the  northern  and  eaflern 
walls  of  the  houfe,  after  a  north-eafterly  ftorm,  thefe  being 
the  only  ones  which  continue  long  enough  to  force  through 
the  walls.  This  however  happens  too  rarely  to  give  a  jull  cha- 
racter of  unwholefomenefs  to  fuch  houfes.  In  a  houfe,  the 
walls  of  which  are  of  well-burnt  brick  and  good  mortar,  I 
have  feen  the  rain  penetrate  through  but  twice  in  a  dozen  or 
fifteen  years.  The  inhabitants  of  Europe,  who  dwell  chiefly 
in  houfes  of  ftone  or  brick,  are  furely  as  healthy  as  thofe 
of  Virginia.  Thefe  houfes  have  the  advantage  too  of  being 
warmer  in  winter  and  cooler  in  fummer  than  thofe  of  wood  ; 
of  being  cheaper  in  their  firfl  conftruction,  where  lime  is  con- 
venient, and  infinitely  more  durable.  The  latter  confider- 
ation  renders  it  of  great  importance  to  eradicate  this  preju- 
dice from  the  minds  of  our  countrymen.  A  country  whofe 
buildings  are  of  wood,  can  never  increafe  in  its  improve- 
ments to  any  confiderable  degree.  Their  duration  is  high- 
ly eftimated  at  50  years.  Every  half  century  then  our  coun- 
try becomes  a  tabula  rafa,  whereon  we  have  to  fet  out  anew, 
as  in  the  firll  moment  of  feating  it.  Whereas  when  build- 
ings are  of  durable  materials,  every  new  edifice  is  an  actu- 
al and  permanent  acquifition  to  the  ftate,  adding  to  its  value 
as  well  as  to  its  ornament. 


C     ^S7     J 

^UERr    XVI. 

j[   H  F  m^ifurcs  taken  -u)ith  rcy^ard  to  the  c/la:cs  and  pojjtffiom 
of  the  rebels i  eommonh  called  tories  ? 

A  tory  his  been  properly  defined  to  be  a  traitor  in  thouglit 
but  not  in  deed.  The  only  defcription  by  which  the  laws 
have  endeavoured  to  come  at  them,  wa«;  that  of  non  jurors, 
or  perfons  refufing  to  take  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  ftatc. 
Pcrfons  of  this  defcription  were  at  one  time  fubjecl:cd  to 
double  taxation,  at  another  to  treble,  and  laftly  were  allow- 
ed retribution,  and  placed  on  a  level  wirli  good  citizens. 
It  may  be  mentioned  as  a  proof  both  of  the  lenity  of  our 
government,  and  unanimity  of  its  inhabitants,  that  llirugh 
this  vvar  has  now  raged  near  feven  years,  not  a  fingle  exe- 
cution for  treafon  has  taken  place. 

Under  tiiis  query  I  will  Hate  the  mcafures  which  have 
been  adopted  as  to  Bririfh  property,  the  owners  of  which 
iland  on  a  much  fairer  footing  than  the  tories.  By  our 
laws,  the  fame  as  the  Englifli  in  this  rcfpec:!:,  no  alien  can 
hold  lands,  nor  alien  enemy  maintain  an  adion  for  money, 
or  otiier  moveable  thing.  Lands  acquired  or  held  by  aliens 
become  forfeited  to  the  Hate  ;  and,  on  an  adion  by 
an  alien  enemy  to  recover  money,  or  other  moveable  pro- 
perty, the  defendant  may  plead  that  he  is  an  alien  enemy. 
This  extinguiflics  his  right  in  the  hands  of  the  debtor  or 
holder  of  his  moveable  property.  By  our  feparation  front 
Great  Britain,  Britifh  fubjecls  became  aliens,  and  being  at 
war,  they  were  alien  enemies.  Their  lands  were  of  courfe 
forfeited,  and  their  debts  irrecoverable.  Thealfembly  how- 
ever palled  laws,  at  various  times,  for  faving  their  property. 
They  iirft  fequeftered  their  lands;,  flavcs,  and  othei"  pro- 
perty on  their  farms  in  the  hands  of  commiflioners,  who 
were  mollly  the  confidential  friends  or  agents  of  the  owners, 
and  direiSted  their  clear  profits  to  be  paid  into  the  treafury : 
and  they  gave  leave  to  all  perfons  owing  debts  to  Britifii 
fiil')jecl:s  to  pay  them  alio  into  the  treafury.  The  monies  fo 
to  be  brought  in  were  declared  to  remain  the  property  of 
the  Britifli  fubjed,  and,  if  ufed  by  the  ftate,  were  to  be  re- 
paid, unlefsan  improper  conduct  in  Great  Britain  fliould 

W 


(     158     ) 

render  a  detention  of  it  reafonable.  Depreciation  had  at 
that  time,  though  unacknowledged  and  unperccived  by  the 
whJgSj  begun  iufoiiie  fmall  degree.  Great  fums  of  money 
were  paid  in  bv  debtors.  At  a  later  period,  the  ailembly, 
adhering  to  the  political  principles  which  forbid  an  alien  to 
hold  lands  in  the  (late,  ordered  all  Britifh  property  to  be 
fold  :  aiid,  become  fenfible  of  the  real  progrefs  of  depreci- 
ation, and  ofthelofles  which  would  thence  occur,  if  not 
guarded  againfl,  they  ordered  that  the  proceeds  of  the  fales 
fhould  be  converted  into  their  then  worth  in  tobac  co,  fub- 
ject  'o  the  future  direction  of  the  legiflature.  Ihis  aft  has 
left  the  queftion  of  retribution  more  problematical.  In  May 
1780,  another  a  1  took  away  the  permiffion  to  pay  into  the 
public  treafury  debts  due  to  Britifli  fubjefts. 


^EKT  XVII. 

H  E-  different  religiotis  received  into  thatjlate  f 

The  firft  fettlers  in  this  country  were  emigrants  from 
England,  of  the  EngliOi  church,  juft  at  a  point  of  time 
when  it  was  fluilied  with  complete  victory  over  the  reHg^ous 
of  all  other  perfuafions.  PoU'eifed,  as  they  became,  of  the 
powers  of  making,  adminiftering,  and  executing  the  laws, 
they  fliewed  equal  intolerance  in  this  country  with  their 
Pred^yterian  brethren,  who  had  emigrated  to  the  northern 
government.  The  poor  Quakers  were  flying  from  perfecu- 
tion  in  England.  They  caft  their  eyes  on  thefe  new  countries 
a-s  afylums  of  civil  and  religious  freedom;  but  they  found 
them  free  only  for  the  reigning  feet.  Several  ads  of  the 
Virginia  afierably  of  1659,  1662  and  1693,  had  made  it 
penal  in  parents  to  refufc  to  have  their  children  baptized  : 
had  prohibited  the  unlawful  aifembling  of  Quakers  ;  had 
made  it  penal  for  any  mailer  of  a  veiTel  to  bring  a  Quaker 
into  the  ftate  ;  had  ordered  thofe  already  here,  and  luch  as 
(hould  come  thereafter,  to  be  imprifoncd  till  they  ll.ould  ab- 
jure the  country  ;  provided  a  milder  puniOmient  for  their 
fir  It  and  fecond  return,  but  death  for  their  third  ;  had  in- 
hibifed  all  perlons  from  fuffering  their  meetings  in  or  near 
their   houfcs,  entertaining   them  individually,  or  difpofmg 


C    159    ) 

of  books  which  fupported  their  tenets.  If  no  execution 
took  place  here,  as  did  in  New-England,  it  was  not  owiii^ 
to  the  moderation  of  the  church,  or  fpiritofthe  legiflature, 
as  may  be  inferred  from  the  hiw  itfclf ;  but  to  hiftorical 
circunilbnces  which  have  not  been  handed  down  to  us. 
The  Anghcans  retained  full  poflellion  of  the  country  about 
a  century.  Other  opinions  began  then  to  creep  in,  and  the 
great  care  of  the  government  to  iupporr  their  cnvn  chuvch, 
having  begotten  an  equal  degree  of  indolence  in  its  clergy, 
two-thirds  of  the  people  had  b.,'Come  difibntcrs  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  prefent  revolution.  'Ihe  laws  intic^d 
were  fbill  oppreflive  on  them,  but  the  fpirit  of  the  pne 
party  had  fubhded  into  moderation,  and  of  the  o^hcr  had 
rifen  to  a  degree  of  determination  which  command'.d  refpeft. 
The  prefent  (tare  of  our  laws  on  the  fubject  of  reli^rion  is 
this.  The  convention  of  May  1776,  in  their  declarntion  of 
rights,  declared  it  to  be  a  truth,  and  a  natural  right,  that 
the  exercife  of  religion  Ihould  be  free,  but  when  they  pro- 
ceeded to  form  on  that  declaration  the  ordinance  of  govern- 
ment, indead  of  taking  up  every  principle  declared  in  the 
bill  of  rights,  and  guarding  it  by  legiilative  fan«5tion,  they 
palTed  over  that  which  afl'ertcd  our  religious  rights,  leaving 
chem  as  they  found  them.  The  fame  convention,  however, 
when  they  met  as  a  member  of  the. general  afl'emblyin  Octo- 
ber, 1776,  repealed  all  acls  of parl'uunent  which  had  render- 
ed criminal  the  maintaining  any  opinions  in  matters  of  re- 
ligion, the  forbearing  to  repair  to  church,  and  the  exer- 
cifing  any  mode  of  worship  ;  and  fufpendcd  the  laws  giving 
ialaries  to  the  clergy,  which  fufpenfion  was  made  perpetual 
in  October  1778.  Statutory  opprelhons  in  religion  being 
til  us  whiped  away,  we  remain  at  prefent  under  thofe  only 
impofed  by  the  common  law,  or  by  our  own  adls  of  aficin- 
bly.  At  the  common  law,  hercfy  was  a  capital  offence, 
punifhahle  by  burning.  Its  definition  was  left  to  the  eccle- 
iiaftical  judges,  before  whom  the  convidion  was,  till  the 
Icatute  of  the  i  El.  c.  i.  circumfcribed  it,  by  declaring, 
that  nothing  {hould  be  deemed  herefy,  but  what  had  been 
fo  determined  by  authority  of  the  canonical  fcriptures,  or  by 
one  of  the  tour  firfl:  general  councils,  or  by  fome  other 
council  having  for  the  grounds  of  their  declaration  the  e'c- 
prefs  and  plain  words  of  the  fcriptures.     Ilerefy,  thus  cir> 

W  3 


(      i6o      ) 

cumfcribeu,  being  an  offence  at  the  common  law,  our  aft 
of  aiicrubly  of  October,  1777,  c.  17.  gives  cognizance  oJ: 
it  to  the  general  court,  by  declaring,  that  the  jurifdidion 
of  that  court  firall  be  general  in  all  matters  at  the  common 
lau\  The  execution  is  by  the  writ  De  hcsrciico  comburendo. 
By  our  own  aci:  of  affenibly  ot  1705,  c.  2)^.  if  a  perfon 
brought  up  in  the  Chriitian  religion  denies  the  being  of  a 
God,  or  the  Trinity,  or  afierts  there  are  more  gods  than 
one,  or  denies  the  Chrifhan  religion  to  be  true,  or  the  fcrip- 
tures  to  be  of  divine  authority,  he  is  punifhable  on  the  firft 
offence  by  incapacity  to  hold  any  ofnce  or  employment  ec- 
clerraitical,  civil,  or  mihtary  ;  on  the  fecond  by  difabihty 
to  fue,  to  take  any  gift  or  legacy,  to  be  guardian,  execu- 
tor, adminiitrator,  and  by  three  years  imprifonment  with- 
out bail,  A  father's  right  to  thecufliody  of  his  own  child- 
ren being  founded  in  law  on  his  right  of  guardianfhip,  this 
being  taken  avv'ay,  they  may  of  courfe  be  fevered  from  him, 
and  put  by  the  authority  of  a  court,  into  more  orthodox 
hands.  This  is  a  fummary  view  of  that  religious  llavery,  un- 
der which  a  people  have  been  willing  to  remain,  who  have 
lavhhed  their  lives  and  fortunes  for  the  eftablifhment  of  their 
civil  freedom.  *  The  error  feems  not  fufficiently  eradicated, 
that  the  operations  of  the  mind,  as  well  as  the  ads  of  the 
body,  are  fubjed  to  the  coercion  of  the  laws.  But  our 
rulers  can  have  no  authority  over  fuch  natural  rights  only 
as  we  have  fubmitted  to  them.  The  rights  of  confcience  we 
never  fubmitted,  we  could  not  fubmit.  We  are  anfwerable 
for  them  to  our  God.  The  legitimate  powers  of  govern-. 
?7ient  extend  to  fuch  acls  only  as  are  injurious  to  others. 
But  it  does  me  no  injury  for  my  neiglibour  to  fay  there  are 
twenty  gods,  or  no  god.  It  neither  picks  my  pocket  nor 
breaks  my  leg.  If  it  be  faid,  his  teilimony  in  a  court  of 
juilice  cannot  be  rf  lied  on,  rejett  it  then,  and  be  the  Itigma 
on  him.  Conftraint  may  make  him  worfe  by  making  him 
a  hypocrite,  but  it  will  never  make  him  a  truer  man.  It 
may  fix  him  obflinately  in  his  errors,  but  will  not  cure  them. 
Reafon  and  free  inquiry  are  the  only  tffecliial  agents  again  (I 
error.— rGive  a  Icofe  to  them,  they  will  fupport  the  true 
religion,  by  bringing  every  falfe  one  to  their  tribunal,  to 
the  tell  of  their  inveltigadon.  They  are  the  natural  cne- 
n;^es  of  error,  and  pf  error  only.  Had  not  the  Roman  go- 
^  Fiirneaux  pailini. 


i 


vcrnnicnt  permitted  free  inquiry,  Chrlflianity  couIJ  never 
have  been  introducc('.  Had  not  free  inquiry  been  indul;^cd 
at  the  icra  of  the  reformation,  the  corruptions  of  Chriltian- 
ity  could  not  have  been  purged  away.  U  it  be  retrained 
now,  tlie  prefent  corruptions  will  be  protected  and  ncv  ones 
encouraged.  Was  the  government  to  prefcribe  to  us  our 
medicine  and  diet,'  our  bodies  would  be  in  fuch  keepiii;^-  as 
our  fouls  arc  now.  Thus  in  France  the  emetic  was  once 
forbidden  as  a  medicine,  and  the  potatoe  as  an  article  of 
food.  Government  is  jull  as  infallible  too  when  it  lixes 
lyftems  in  phyfics.  Galileo  was  fent  to  the  inquifition  for 
affirming  that  the  earth  was  a  fphere  :  the  government  had 
declared  it  to  be  as  flat  as  a  trencher,  and  Galileo  was  o- 
bliged  to  abjure  his  error.  This  error  however  at  length 
prevailed,  the  earth  became  a  globe,  and  Defcartes  declared 
it  was  whirled  round  its  axis  by  a  vortex.  The  govern- 
ment in  which  he  lived  was  wife  enough  to  fee  that  this  was 

o 

no  quedion  of  civil  jurifdiclion,  or  we  (liould  all  have  been 
involved  by  authority  in  vortices.  In  fact,  the  --ortices 
have  been  exploded,  and  the  Newtonian  principle  o'  gravi- 
tation is  now  more  firmly  eltabliflied,  on  thebafis  of  rcafon, 
th;m  it  would  be  were  the  government  to  ftep  in,  and  to 
make  it  an  article  of  neceffary  faith.  Rcafon  and  experi- 
ment have  been  indulged,  and  error  has  fled  before  them. 
It  is  error  alone  which  needs  che  fupport  of  govern n-'-ent. 
Truth  can  fland  by  itfelf.  Subjedb  opinion  to  coercion : 
whom  will  you  make  your  inquifitors  ?  Fallible  men  ;  men. 
governed  by  bad  paifions,  by  private  as  well  as  public  rea- 
fons.  And  why  fubjecc  it  to  coercion  ?  To  produce  uni- 
formity. But  is  uniformity  of  opinion  defirable  ?  No  more 
than  of  face  and  ftature.  Introduce  the  bed  of  Procruftes 
then,  and  as  there  is  danger  that  the  large  men  may  beat 
the  fmall,  make  us  all  of  a  fize,  by  lopping  the  former 
and  flretching  the  latter.  Difference  of  opinion  is  advan- 
tageous in  religion.  The  feveral  feels  perform  the  office  of 
a  cenfor  morum  over  each  other.  Is  uniformily  attainable  ? 
Millions  of  innocent  men,  women,  and  children,  fince  the 
introduction  of  Chrillianity,  have  been  burnt,  tortured, 
fined,  imprifoned  ;  yet  we  f^ave  not  advanced  one  inch  to- 
wards uniformity.  What  has  been  the  eileel  of  coercion  ? 
to  make  one  half  the  world  fools,  and  the  other  half  hypo- 
crites,    To  fupport  roguery  and  error   all  over  the  earth. 


Let  us  reflect  that  it  is  inhabited  by  a  thoufand  millions  of 
people.  Ihat  thefe  profeis  probably  a  thousand  different 
fyflcms  of  religion.  That  ours  is  but  one  of  that  thoufand. 
'I'hat  if  there  be  but  one  right,  and  ours  that  one,  we  fhould 
wilh  to  fee  the  999  wandering  fects  gathered  into  the  fold  of 
truth.  But  againfl  fuch  a  majority  we  -cannot  effeft  this  by 
force.  Reafon  and  perfuafl.  n  are  tlie  only  practicable  in- 
(Iruments.  To  make  way  for  thefe,  free  inquiry  n'.uil  be 
indulged  ;  and  how  can  we  wifli  others  to  indulge  it  while 
W"e  rcfufe  it  ouri elves. 

But  every  fiate,  fays  an  inquifitor,  has  eflablidied  fome 
religion.  No  two,  fay  I,  have  eftabliihed  the  fame.  Is  this 
a  proof  of  the  infallibility  of  edablilhments  ?  Our  filler 
liates  of  Pennfylvania  and  New-York,  however,  have  long 
fubfifted  Vv'ithout  any  eflablilhment  at  all.  The  experiment 
was  new  and  doubtful  when  ^hey  made  it.  It  has  anfwered 
beyond  conception.  They  flourifli  infinitely.  Religion  is 
well  fupported  ;  of  various  kinds,  indeed,  but  all  good 
enough  ;  all  lufficient  to  preferve  peace  and  order  :  or  if  a 
feci  arifes,  whofe  tenets  would  fubvert  morals,  good  fenfe 
has  fair  play,  and  reafons  and  laughs  it  out  of  doors,  with- 
out futTering  the  (late  to  be  troubled  with  it.  They  do  not 
hang  more  malefaClors  than  we  do.  They  are  not  more 
diiturbed  with  religious  dilfentions.  On  the  contrary,-  their 
harmony  is  unparalleled,  and  can  be  afcribed  to  nothing 
but  their  unbounded  tolerance,  becaufe  there  is  no  other 
circumftance  in  which  they  differ  from  every  nation  on  earth. 
lliey  have  made  the  happy  difcovery,  that  the  way  to  filence 
religious  difputes,  is  to  take  no  notice  of  them.  Let  us  too 
give  this  experiment  fair  play,  and  get  rid,  while  we  may 
of  thofe  tyrannical  laws.  It  is  true,  we  are  as  yet  fecured. 
againff  them  by  the  fpirit  of  the  times.  I  doubt  whether 
the  people  of  this  country  would  fuffer  an  execution  for  her- 
efy,  or  a  three  years  imprii'onment  for  not  co.nprehcnding 
the  myilerics  of  th'e  Trinity.  But  is  the  fpirit  of  the  people 
an  inlallible,  a  perraan^mt  reliance  ?  Is  it  government  ?  Is 
this  the  kind  of  proteclion  we  receive  in  return  for  the  rights 
xve  give  up  ?  Befuies,  the  fpirit  of  the  times  may  alter,  will 
alter.  Our  rulers  will  become  corrupt,  our  people  carelefs. 
A  fjngle  zealot  may  commence  perfecutor,  and  better  men 
be  his  via; ins.  It  can  never  be  too  often  repeated,  that  the 
time  for  h:^ijig  evci-y  .eifenti.il  right  on  a  le^^'al  bafis  is  while 


(     »63     ) 

our  rulers  are  honcH:,  and  ourfclvcs  united.  From  the  con- 
clufion  of  this  war  we  fliall  be  going  down  hill.  It  will  not 
then  be  neceilary  to  refort  every  moment  to  the  people  tor 
fupport.  They  will  be  forgotten,  thcrcrore,  and  their  rii;hts 
diiregarded  They  will  forget  thcmlelves,  but  in  the  fole 
f.Kulty  of"  making  money,  and  wiil  never  think,  of"  uniting  to 
eireiri:  a  due  relped  tor  their  rights.  The  fhacklcs,  thtrct'ore, 
which  nia'i  not  be  knocked  oil"  at  the  conclufion  of  this  war, 
will  remain  on  us  long,  will  be  made  heavier  and  heavier, 
till  our  rights  thall  revive  or  expire  in  a  convultlon. 


QJJ  E  R  Y     XVIir. 


T. 


H  E  particular   cujloms  and  ?nanners  that  may  happen  te 
be  received  in  that  Jiate? 

It  is  dilUcult  to  determine  on  the  flandard  by  which  the 
manners  of  a  nation  may  be  tried,  whether  catholic  or  parti- 
cular. It  is  more  difficult  for  a  native  to  bring  to  that  ftand- 
ard  the  manners  of  his  own  nation,  familiarifed  to  him  by 
habit.  There  mufl  doubtlefs  be  an  unhappy  influence  on  the 
manners  of  our  people  produced  by  the  exigence  of  ilavery 
among  us.  The  whole  commerce  between  mailer  and  ilave 
is  a  perpetual  exercife  of  the  mod  boifterous  paflions, 
the  moll  unremitting  defpotifin  on  the  one  parr,  and  de- 
grading fubmiifions  on  the  other.  Our  children  fee  this, 
and  learn  to  imitate  it;  for  man  is  an  imitative  animal. — 
This  quality  is  the  germ  of  all  education  in  him.  From  his 
cradie  to  his  grave  he  is  learning  to  do  what  he  fees  others 
do.  If  a  parent  could  find  no  motive  either  in  his  phi]?.n- 
thropy  or  his  felf-Iove,  for  reftraining  the  intemperance  of 
pailion  towards  his  flave,  it  (hould  always  be  a  fufncient  one 
that  his  child  is  prefent.  But  generally  it  is  not  luflicient. 
The  parent  ilorms,  the  child  looks  on,  catches  the  linea- 
ments of  wrath,  puts  on  the  fame  airs  in  the  circle  of  fmailer 
flaves,  gives  a  loofe  to  the  worft  of  his  paflions,  and  thus 
nurfed,  educated,  and  daily  exercifed  in  tyranny,  cannot 
but  be  ftamped  by  it  with  odious  peculiarities-  1  he  man 
mufl  be  a  prodigy  who  can  retain  his  manners  and  morals 


(     i64     ) 

undepraved  by  fuch  circumflances.  And  with  what  execra- 
tion fhouid  the  ftatefman  be  loaded,  who  permitting  one 
half  the  citizens  thus  to  trample  on  the  rights  of  the  other, 
transforms  thofe  into  defpots,  and  thefe  into  enemies,  deftroys 
the  morals  of  the  one  part,  and  the  amor  patriae  of  the 
other.  For  if  a  flave  can  have  a  country  in  this  world,  it 
niuft  be  any  other  in  preference  to  that  in  which  he  is  born 
to  live  and  labour  for  another:  in  which  he  mud  lockup 
the  faculties  of  his  nature,  contribute  as  far  as  depends  on 
his  individual  endeavours  to  the  evanilhment  of  the  human 
race,  or  entail  his  own  miferable  condition  on  the  endlefs 
generations  proceeding  from  him.  With  the  morals  of  the 
people,  their  induilry  alfo  is  deftroyed.  For  in  a  warm  cli- 
mate, no  man  will  labour  for  himfelf  who  can  make  another 
labour  for  him.  1  his  is  fo  true,  that  of  the  proprietors  of 
Haves  a  very  fmall  proportion  indeed  are  ever  feen  to  labour. 
And  can  the  liberties  of  a  nation  be  thought  fecure  when  we 
h;ive  removed  their  only  firm  bafis,  a  convidion  in  the 
minds  of  the  people  that  thefe  liberties  are  of  the  gift  of 
God  ?  That  they  are  not  to  be  violated  but  with  his  wrath  ? 
Indeed  I  tremble  for  my  country  when  I  reflect  that  God  is 
jufl:  th?.t  his  judice  cannot  fleep  for  ever  :  that  confidering 
numbers,  nature  and  natural  means  only,  a  revolution  of 
the  wheel  of  fortune,  an  exchange  of  fituation  is  among 
poilible  events :  that  it  may  become  probable  by  fupernatu- 
ral  interference !  The  Almighty  has  no  attribute  which  can 
take  fide  with  us  in  fuch  a  conteft.  But  it  is  impoflible  to 
be  temperate  and  co  purfue  this  fubjed  through  the  various 
confiderations  of  policy,  of  morals,  ofhiftory,  natural  and 
civil.  We  muft:  be  contented  to  hope  they  will  force  their 
way  into  every  one's  mind.  I  think  a  change  already  per- 
ceptible, fince  the  origin  of  the  prefent  revolution.  The 
fpirit  of  the  mafter  is  abating,  that  of  the  Have  rifing  from 
the  duft,  his  condition  mollifying,  the  way  I  hope  preparing 
under  the  aufpiccs  of  heaven,  for  a  total  emancipation,  and 
that  this  is  difpofed,  in  the  order  of  events,  to  be  with  the 
confent  of  the  mafters,  rather  than  by  their  extirpation. 


(     ^^5     ) 
Q^U  E  R  Y      XIX. 

X  H  E   prcfent  Jlate  of  7nanufaclur^Sf  commerce,    interior 
and  exterior  trade  ? 

We  never  haJ  nn  interior  trade  of  anv  imporrnnce.  Our 
exterior  commerce  lias  TulFered  very  much  from  tlie  hej;in- 
niag  of  the  prefent  conteft.  During  this  time  we  have  ma- 
nufactured within  our  families  the  mofl  neceflary  articles  of 
cloathing.  Thofc  of  cotton  will  bear  fome  comparilon  vv'iih 
the  fame  kinds  of  manufadure  in  Europe ;  but  thofe  of 
wool,  flax  a'.id  hemp  are  very  coarfe,  unfif'^htly  and  unnle:-,- 
f:\nt ;  and  fuch  is  our  attr.chment  to  agriculture,  and  Incii. 
our  preference  for  foreign  manufacburcs,  that  be  it  wife  or 
unwife,  our  people  will  certainly  return  as  foon  as  they  cr.n, 
to  ihe  ralfing  raw  materials,  and  exchanging  them  for  finer 
manufactures  than  they  are  able  to  execute  themfelvcs. 
-  The  political  economics  of  Europe  have  eflabliOied  it  as 
a  principle  that  every  (late  (liould  endeavour  to  manufacture 
for  itfelf :  and  this  principle,  like  many  others,  we  transfer 
to  America,  without  calculating  the  diflerence  of  circum- 
flance  ^\  hich  diould  often  produce  a  difference  of  refult.  la 
Europe  the  lands  are  either  cultivated,  or  locked  up  againft: 
the  cultivator.  Manufacture  mufl  therefore  be  reforted  to 
of  neceffity  not  of  choice,  to  fupport  the  furplus  of  their 
people.  But  we  have  an  immenfity  of  land  courting  the- 
induftry  of  the  hultandman.  Is  it  bed  then  that  all  our  citi- 
zens fhould  be  employed  in  its  improvement,  or  that  one 
half  fhould  be  called  off  from  that  to  exercife  manufactures- 
and  handicraft  arts  for  the  other  ?  Thofe  who  labour  in  the 
earth  are  the  chofen  people  of  Ood,  if  ever  he  had  a  choferi 
people,  whofe  breads  he  has  made  his  peculiar  depofit  for  fub- 
ftantial  and  genuine  virtue.  It  is  the  focus  in  which  he  keeps 
alive  that  facrcd  fire  which  othervvife  might  efcape  from  the 
face  of  the  earth.  Corruption  of  morals  in  the  mafs  of  cul- 
tivator? is  a  phssnomcnon  of  which  no  age  nor  nation  has- 
furniflied  an  example.  It  is  the  mark  fet  on  thole,  who  not 
looking  up  to  heaven,  to  their  own  foil  and  induftry,  as 
does  the  hufbandman  for  their  fubfiflence,  depend  for  it  on. 
the  cafualties  and  caprice  of  cuftomers.  Dependence  begets 
fubfervience  and  veoality,  fuffocates  the  germ  of  virtue,'  and 

A 


^^     i66     ) 

prepares  fit  tools  for  the  defigns  of  ambition.  This,  the 
natural  progiels  and  confequence  of  the  arts,  has  fometimes 
perhaps  been  retarded  by  accidental  circumftances  :  but  ge- 
nerally fpeaking,  the  proportion  which  the  aggregate  of  the 
other  clailes  of  citizens  bears  in  any  ilate  to  that  of  ics  huf- 
baiidmeii,  is  the  proportion  of  its  unfound  to  its  healthy 
p'.rts,  and  is  a  good  enough  barometer  whereby  to  meafure 
its  'degree  of  corruption.  While  we  have  land  to  labour 
then,  let  us  never  wiili  to  fee  our  citizens  occupied  at  a 
work-benrh,  or  twirling  a  diflaff.  Carpenters,  mafons, 
fmiths,  are  wanting  in  huib'andry :  but  for  the  general  ope- 
rations of  maimfadurc,  let  our  work-lhops  remain  in  Europe. 
It  is  better  to  carry  provifions  and  materials  to  workmen 
thcre^  than  bring  them  to  the  provifions  and  materials,  and 
with  them  their  manners  and  principles.  The  lofs  by  the 
tranfportation  of  commodities  acrofs  the  Atlantic  will  be 
made  up  in  happinefs  and  permanence  of  government.  The 
mobs  of  great  cities  add  juft  fo  much  to  the  fupport  of  pure 
government,  as  fores  do  to  the  flrength  of  the  human  body. 
It  is  the  m.anners  and  fpirit  of  a  people  which  preferve  a  re- 
public in  vigor.  A  degeneracy  in  thefe  is  a  canker  which 
foon  eats  to  the  heart  of  its  laws  and  conllitution. 


Q^  U  E  R  Y     XX. 


NOTICE  of  the  cmmerclal  -produdAons  particular  %)  the 
Jiate,  and  of  thofc  ohje^s  "which  the  inhabitants  are  obliged  to  get 
from  Europe  and  from  other  parts  of  the  world? 

Before  the  prefent  war  we  exported  communlbus  annis, 
according  to  the  bed  information  I  can  get,  nearly  as  dat- 
ed in  the  following  page. 

In  the  year  1758  we  exported  feventy  thoufand  hogfiieads 
of  tobacco,  which  was  the  greatefi:  quantity  ever  produced 
in  this  country  in  one  year.  But  its  culture  was  faft.  declin- 
ing at  the  commencement  of  this  war,  and  that  ot  wheat 
taken  its  place :  and  it  niulf  continue  to  dechne  on  the  re- 
turn cf  peace.  I  fufped  that  the  change  in  the  temperature 
cf  our  climate  has  become  fenfible  to  that  plaat>  which,  to 


C     ^^7     ) 


^ 


Q» 


;« 

G. 


^ 


., 

mW  H"" -( »> -i-  »<j-«.», 

o  O 

o 

O  -0 

o 

o 

O    O  ^    f   ro  "  <:  -o 

6  ^ 

o 

o  ^ 

o 

i) 

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o  X 

o 

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o 

o 

O    O  ^O    "■>  rl  ^o^c  O 

c ":? 

o 

o>o 

o 

r« 

O  CO  vO    f<"    fv,  cr.   »    M 

^/~    x3 

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cS    u 


OK-  tr. 


O     (U      U 

^  -O  -° 

-=  o  o 

GOO 
O    O    O 

°  o"^  o 

o>  o    o 


irt       o      ^ 


o 


o  o 
o  o 
o  o 


,  r-*^~> 


f«      ij 


to 


c    s    "^ 
,-  .r   t) 


5^  o 


o    ,  ^.S/ 


•^2 

5, 


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o 

-  CU.  fit's  ^ii 
.t:  S  o  2  -^  5 
o.  G-  cc  c/>  _:  in 


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c 


he  good,  requires  an  extraordinary  degree  of  heat.  But  if 
J-equires  dill  more  indifpenrably  an  uncommon  fertility  of 
foil  1  and  the  price  which  it  commands  at  market  will  not 
enable  the  planter  to  produce  this  by  manure.  Was  the 
fuppiy  fcill  to  depend  on  Virginia  and  Maryland  alone,  as 
its  culture  becomes  more  difficult,  the  price  would  rile,  fo 
a:  to  enable  the  planter  to  furmount  thofe  difficulties  and 
to  live.  But  the  weftern  country  on  the  Miffiilippi,  and  the 
midlands  of  Georgia,  having  frefh  and  fertile  lands  in  a- 
bunJance,  and  a  hotter  fun,  will  be  able  to  underfell  thefe 
two  dates j  and  v.  ill  oblige  them  to  abandon  thi  raifing  to- 
bacco altogether.  And  a  happy  obligation  for  them  it  will 
be.  it  is .  a  culture  productive  of  infinite  wretchednefs« 
Thofe  employed  in  it  are  in  a  continual  (late  ofexertion^ 
beyond  the  power  of  nature  to  fupport.  Little  food  of  any 
kind  is  raifed  by  theni :  fo  that  the  nien  and  animals  en 
thefe  farms  are  badly  fed,  and  the  earth  is  rapidly  impover- 
iihed.  The  cultivation  of  wheat  is  the  reverfe  in  every  cir- 
cumitance.  Befides  cloathing  the  earth  with  herbage,  and 
preferving  its  fertility,  it  feeds  the  labourers  plentifully,  re- 
quires from  them  only  a  moderate  toil,  except  in  the  feafon 
of  harvel]:,  raifes  great  nuhibers  of  animals  for  food  and  fer- 
vice,  and  difl'ufes  plenty  and  happinefs  among  the  whole. 
We  find  it  eafidr  to  make  an  hundred  bulhels  of  wheat  than 
a  thoafand  weight  of  tobacco,  and  they  are  worth  more 
wh^n  made.  The  weavil  indeed  is  a  formidable  obftacle  to 
the  cultivarion  of  this  grain  with  us.  But  principles  are  al- 
ready known  which  mutt  lead  to  a  remedy.  Thus  a  cer- . 
tain  ds'T-ree  of  heat,  to  wit,  that  of  the  common  air  in  I'um- 
iner,  is  ncct  iTary  to  haich  the  egg.  If  fubterranean  grana- 
ries, or  o'lhers,  therefore,  can  be  contrived  below  that  tem- 
pei'ature,  the  evil  will  be  cured  by  cold.  A  degree  of  heat  • 
beyond  that  which  hatches  the  egg  we  know  will  kill  it. 
But  in  aiming  at  this  v.eeafily  run  into  that  which  produc- 
ts putrefaction.  To  produce  putrefadion,  however,  three 
agents'are  requifite,  heat,  moillure,  and  the  external  air. 
If  theabfcnce  of  any  one  of  tht'e  be  fecurcd,  the  other  two 
tilay  fafely  be  admitted.  Heat  is  the  one  we  want.  ,  Moift- 
ure  then,  or  external  air,  muH:  be  excluded.  The  former 
has  been  done  by  expoimg  the  grain  in  kilns  to  the  action 
of  fire,  which  prodmes  heat,  and  extracts  moillure  at  the 
Tame  time :  the  latter,  by  putting  the  grain  into  hogfhcads 
c^^\rtnn'j  it  with  a  ccut  ot  lirnc,  and  heading  it  up.     In  this 


(     1^9     ) 

fituation  its  bulk  produced  a  heat  fuflicient  to  kill  the  egj^ ; 
the  moilture  is  lutl'cred  to  remain  indeed,  but  the   external 
air  is  excluded.     A  nicer  operation  yet  has  been  attempted  ; 
that  is,  to  produce  an  intermediate  tcrnpcinture  ot  htat  be- 
tween that  which   kill.?  the  egg,  and    that   which  produces 
putretadian.    The   thrcHiing  the  grain   as  foon  as  it  is  cut, 
and  laying  it  in  its  chad'in  large  heaps,   has  been  found  very 
nearly  to  hit  this   temperature,  though   not   perfectly,  nor 
always.     The  heap  generates  heat  fufHcient  to  kill  moft  ot" 
the  tg'/s,  wh'Kl  the  chaft'conimonly  reitrains  it   froui  riiuig 
into  putrcfadion.     But  all  iheie  methods  iibridge  too  much 
the  q  rantity  which  the  farmer  can  manage,  and   enable  o- 
ther  countries  to  underlell  him  which  are  not  infelled  with 
this  infecl:.     There  is  iViW  a  dehderatum  then  to  give  with 
us  decifive  triumph  to  thisbranch  of  agriculture  over  that 
of  tobacco. —  ihe    culture    of  wheat,    by    enlarging    our 
piMiLire,  will   render  the  Arabian   horfe    an  article   of  very 
confiderable  proht.     I'^xpcrience  has  fnewn  that  ours  is  the 
particular  climate  of /imerica  where  he  may  be  raifed  with- 
out degeneracy.    Southwardly  the  heat  ot  the  fun  occafions 
a  deficiency  cfpadure,  and  northwardly  the  winters  are  too 
cold  for  the  fliort  and  iine  hair,  the  particular  fenfibility  and 
conftitution   of  that   race.     Animals  tranfplanted  into    un- 
friendly climates,  either    change  their  nature  and   acquire  '■ 
new  fences  againfl  the   new  dillicuhies  in  which  they  are 
pi  iced,  or  they   multiply  poorly  and  become   extinct.    A 
good  foundation  is  laid  for  their  propagation   here  by  our 
pod'eiUng  already  great  numbers  of  horfes  of  that  blood,  and 
by  a  decided   tafte   and  preference  for   them  eOabliflied  a- 
mong  the  people.    Their  patience   of  heat  without  injury, 
their  fuperior  wind,  fit   them  better   in   this   and  the  more 
fouthern  climates  even  for  the  drudgeries  of  the  plough  and 
waggon.    Northw-ardly  they  will  become  an  objccl  only  to 
perfons  of  tafte  and  fortune,  for  the  faddle  and  light   carri- 
ages.   To  thofe,  and  lor  thefe  ules,  their  fieetnefs  and  beau- 
ty will  recommend  them. — Befides  thefe  there  will  be  other 
valuable  fubllitutes  when  the  cultivation  of  tobacco  fhall  be 
difcontinued,  fuch  as  cotton  in  the  eaftern  parts  of  the  flate, 
and  hemp  and  flax  in  the  weftern. 

It  is  not  eafy  to  fay  what  are  the  articles  eiiher  of  necefli- 
ly,  comfort,  or  luxury,  which  we  cannot  raife,  and  which 
ve  therefore  (hall  be  under  a  ncceflity  of  importing  from 
abroad,  as  every  thing  h:\rdier  than  the  olive,  and  as  hardy 


(     I70     )  . 

as  the  fig,  may  be  ralfed  here  in  the  open  air,  Sugar,  coffee 
and  tea,  indeed,  are  not  between  thefe  limits  ;  and  habit  hav^ 
ing  placed  them  among  the  neceffaries  of  life  with  the  weal- 
thy part  of  our  citizens,  as  long  as  thefe  habits  remain  we 
mud  go  for  them  to  thofe  countries  which  are  able  to  fur- 
nifli  thcm._ 

O  U  E  R  Y     XXI. 

IT 

£    n  E  weights,  meafures,  and  the  currency  of  the  hard  mo- 

ney  ?  Seme  details  relating  to  exchange  ivith  Europe  ? 

Our  weights  and  meafures  are  the  fame  which  are  fixed  by 
ads  of  parliament  in  England. — How  it  has  happened  that  in 
this  a5  weil  as  the  other  American  ftates  the  nominal  value 
of  coin,  was  made  to  differ  irom  what  it  was  in  the  country 
we  had  left,  and  to  differ  among  oarfelves  too,  I  am  not 
able  to  fay  with  certainty.  I  find  that  in  163'  our  houfe  of 
burgeffes  defired  of  theprivy  council  in  England,  a  coin  de- 
bafed  to  twenty  five  per  cent :  that  in  1 645  they  forbid  deal- 
ing by  barter  for  tobacco,  and  eftabliflied  the  Spanifh  piece 
of  eight  at  fix  fliillings,  as  the  ftandard  of  their  currency  : 
that  in  1655  they  changed  it  to  five  (hillings  flerling.  In 
16S0  they  fcnt  an  addrefs  to  the  king,  in  confequence  of 
which,  by  proclamation  in  \  683  he  fixed  the  value  of  French 
crowns,  rix  dollars  and  pieces  of  eight  at  fix  fhillings,  and  the 
coin  of  New-England  at  one  {lulling.  That  in  1710,  1714, 
J727,  and  1762,  other  regulations  were  m.ide,  which  will 
be  better  prefented  to  the  eye  flatedin  the  form  of  a  table  in 
the  luccecding  page. 

The  firft  fymptom  of  the  depreciation  of  our  prefent  paper 
money,  was  that  of  filver  dollars  felling  at  fix  fliillings,  which 
had  before  been  worth  but  5  (hillings  and  9  pence.  The  affem- 
bly  thereupon  raifed  them  by  law  to  fix  flnllings.  As  the  dol- 
lar is  now  likely  to  become  the  money-unit  of  America,  as 
it  paffes  nt  this  rate  in  fome  of  our  filler  ffates,  and  as  it  la- 
cilitates  their  computation  in  pounds  and  fhillings,  h  e  con- 
verfo,  this  fecms  to  be  more  convenient  than  its  former  de- 
nomination. But  as  this  particular  coin  now  ftands  higher 
than  any  ether  in  the  proportion  of  133*  to  125  or  16  to 
1 5,  it  will  be  ncceffary  to  raife  the  ethers  in  proportion. 


(     '7'     ) 


I  '^        — ; 


I 


Q    O 


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—  ?  ^  — - 


>3  r)  g 

3^  ij 


rD 


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t    —    3    ft    n 
i/>    r'  <^    ^  •  -I 

■ :?  '^  s,  ^''  f 

1  ^  ~  r:  " 
c  .o  2  f» 

y    ■*     -t    n 
-1    n    «    O 


§.^ 


3 

—  —  o 


3    O 


-       3 
o    — • 


3    O    f^    '; 
a-  -I  3  ^- 


■j^  .3   a. 


J    n 


o 

C    3  O 


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o 


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S 

^T 

a. 

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M 

JJ 

-f- 

"^I 


n 


(     17^     ) 
Q  U  E  R  Y     XXII. 

H  E  public  iricGine  and  CKpcnces  ? 

The  nominal  amount  of  thefe  varying  conflantly  and  ra- 
pidly, witli  the  conllant  and  rapid  dtprecialion  of  our  paper 
money,-  it  becomes  imprafticable  to  fay  what  they  are.  We 
find  ourfelves  cheated  in  every  elfay  by  the  depreciation  in- 
tervening between  the  declaration  of  the  tax  and  its  adual 
receipt.  It  will  therefore  be  more  fatisfaclory  to  confider 
what  our  income  may  be  when  \v&  fliall  find  means  of  col- 
iedb'ng  what  our  people  may  fpare.  I  (hould  eflimate  the 
whole  taxable  property  of  this  ftate  at  an  hundred  millions 
of  dollars,  or  thirty  millions  of  pounds  our  money.  One 
per  cent,  on  this,  compared  with  any  thing  we  ever  yet 
paid,  would  be  deemed  a  very  heavy  tax.  Yet  I  think  that 
thofe  who  manage  well,  and  ufe  reafonable  economy,  could 
pay  one  and  a  half  per  cent,  and  maintain  their  houfehold 
comfortably  in  the  mean  time,  without  aliening  any  part  of 
their  principal,  and  that  the  people  would  fubmit  to  this 
willingly  for  the  purpofe  of  fupporting  their  prefent  conteft. 
We  may  fay  then,  that  we  could  raife,  and  ought  to  raife, 
from  one  miUion  to  one  million  an  a  half  of  dollars  annually, 
that  is,  from  three  hundred  to  four  hundred  and  fifty 
thoufand  pounds,  Virginia  money. 

Of  our  expences  it  is  equally  difficult  to  give  an  exacl 
fcate,  and  for  the  fame  reafon.  They  are  moft ly  fiated  in 
paper  money,  which  varying  continually,  the  legiflature 
endeavours  at  every  fefiion,  by  new  correclions,  to  adapt 
the  nominal  fums  to  the  value  it  is  wifhed  they  would  bear. 
I  will  Hate  them  therefore  in  real  coin,  at  the  point  at  which 
they  endeavour  to  keep  them. 

Dollars, 

Tbe  annual  expences  oFthe  gercrsl  affembly  are  about     -  20,coo 

The  oovernor                  -       "          -                           -  ?.^?.^   r-;^ 

Tiie  council  of  flale                 -                  -                         -  10,666  2-3 

Their  deiks         -                   -                      -  1,166  2-? 

Llcven  jud^^es         -                  -                       ...  Jt,ooo 

The  tlerk  of  t'.ie  clianccry                          -             -  6662-3 

1  lie  attorney  (reneral              -              •                  -              -  1 .000 

Three  aiKlitors  ami  a  folicitor         -              -              -          -  5.^?.^   I"* 

Tlicir  clt;ks             -             .             -             -  2,00.) 

Tl:e  trcafiirer         ...              ...  2,000 

iljs    clerks         -----  2;Ooo 


I 


(     "^73     ) 

Thekffcpcrofilic public  jail             -                     -             -  i.ono 

The  public  printer                   ...  1,666    2*t 

Clerks  of  the   interior  courts                      -                    -  43>333    l'3 
Public  levy  :   this  is  chictlv  lor  the  expcncc? 

of  criminal  ju'.Vice  •                 -                  -                 •  40  ooo 

County  levy,  for  bridges,  court  liouUs,    priluns,  5:o.       -  40,00  > 

Members  of  Conn  re  fs              .                  -                   .  7,000 
Quota  of  the  federal  civil  lid,   fuppofcil  one  lixth  of  about 

78,000   dollars              -               ,                .                 -  1 3,000 
Exp?nces  of  coUciHiion,  lix  per  cent,  on  the  above                .12,310 
The  clerg;y  rective  only  voluntary  contributions  :   fuppofe 
them  on    an  average  one  eighth  of  a  dollar  a  tythe  on 

200, oco  tyihcs             -             ...             -  2j,ooo 
ConiJngencies,  to  make  round  numbers  not  far  from  truth     7,52;^ 


2}  0,000 
Dollars,  or  S3^57^  guineas.     This  en:in?ate  is  exclufive  of 
the  military  expence.     That  varies  with  the  force   atlually 
employed,  and  in  time  of  peace  will  probably  be  little  or  no- 
thing.    It  is  exclufive  alfo  of  the  public  debts,  which  are 
growing  while  I  am  writing,  and  cannot  therelbre  be  now* 
fixed.  So  it  is  of  the  maintenance  of  the  poor,  which  bein^ 
merely  a  matter  of  charity,  cannot  be  deemed  expended  in 
the  adminiftration  of  government.     And  if  we  ftrikc  out  the 
^25,000  dollars  for  the  fervices  of  the  clergy,  which  neither 
makes  part  of  the  adminillration,  more  than  what  is  paid  to 
phyficians  or  lawyers,  and  being  voluntary,  is  either  much 
or  nothing  as  every  one  pleafes,  it  leaves   225,000  dollars, 
equal  to  48,208  guineas,  the  real  cofl   of  the  apparatus   of 
government  with  us.     This  divided  among  the  actual  mha- 
bitants  of  our  country,  comes  to  about  two-fifths  of  a  dollar, 
2  id.  fterling,  or  42  fols,  the  price  which  each  pays  annu- 
ally for  the  protection  of  the  refidue  ol:  his  property,  and  ihe 
other  advantages  of  a  free  government.     The  public  reve- 
nues of  Great  Britain  divided  in  like  manner  on  its  inhabi- 
tants would  be  16  times  greater.     Dedu»£ling  even  the  dou- 
ble of  the  expences  of  government,  as  before  ei1;imated,  from, 
the  million  and  a  half  of  dollars  which  we   before  fuppofed 
might  be  annually  paid  without  diftrefs,  we   may  conclude 
that  this  (late  can  contribute  one  million  of  dollars  annually 
towards  fupporting  the  federal  army,  paying  the  federal  debt, 
building  a  federal  navy,  or  opening  roads,  clearing  rivers, 
forming  fafe  ports,  and  other  ufeful  works* 

To  this  edimate  of  our  abilities,  let  me  add  a  word  as  to 
ihe  application  of  tluim,  if  when  cleared  of  the  pr^feut  con^ 

Y 


(     '74    ) 

teft,  and  of  the  debts  with  which  that  wtII  charge  us,  we 
come  to  meafurc  force  hereafter  with  any  European  power. 
Such  events  are  devoutly  to  be  deprecated.     Young  as  we 
are,  and  with  fuch  a  country  before  us  to  fill  with  people 
and  with  happinefs,  we  fhould  point   in  that  diredlion  the 
whole  generative  force  of  nature,  wafting  none  oi  it  in  ef- 
forts of  mutual  deftruction.     It  fliould  be  our  endeavour  to 
cultivate  the  peace  and  friendfhip  of  every  nation,  even  of 
that  which  has  injured  us  'lioft,  'vvhen  we  Ihall  have  carried 
our  point  againft  her.     Our  intereft  will  be  to  throw  open 
the  doors  of  commerce,  and  to  knock  off  all  its  fhacklcs, 
giving  perfetl  freedom  to  al;  perrons  for  the  vent  of  what- 
ever they  may  chufe  to  bring  into  our  ports,  and  afking  the 
fame  in  theirs.    Never  was  lo  much  falfe  arithmetic  employ- 
ed on  any  fubjeft,  as  that  which  has  been  employed  to  per- 
fuade  nations  that  it  is  their  intereft  to  go  to  war.     Were 
the  money  which  it  has  coft  to  gain,  at  the  clofc  of  a  long 
war,  a  little  town,  or  a  little  territory,  the  right  to  cut  wood 
here,  or  to  catch  fifh  there,  expended  in  improving  what 
they  already  poflefs,  in  making  roads,  opening  rivers,  build- 
ing ports,  improving  the  arts,  and  finding  employment  for 
their  idle  poor,  it  would  render  them  muchftronger,  much 
wealthier  and  happier.     This  I  hope  will  be  our  wifdom.— 
And,  perhaps,  to  remove  as  much  as  pofTible  the  occafions 
of  maldng  war,  it  might  be  better  for  us  to  abandon  the 
ocean  altogether,    that  being  the  element  whereon  we  fhall 
be  principally  expofed  to  jollle  with  other  nations  ;  to  leave 
to  others  to  bring  what  we  fliall  want,  and  to  carry  what 
we  can  fpare.     This  would  make  us  invulnerable  to  Europe, 
by  offering  none  of  our  property  to  their  prize,  and  would 
turn  all  our  citizens  to  the  cultivation  of  the  earth  ;   and  I 
repeat  it  again,  cultivators  of  the  earth  are  the  moft  virtuous 
and  independent  citizens.     It  might  be  time  enough  to  feck 
employment  for  them  at  fea,  when  the  land  no  longer  offers 
it.     But  the  actual  habits  of  our  countrymen  attach  them  to 
commerce.    They  will  exercife  it  for  themlelves.     Wars 
then  muft  fometimes  be  our  lot ;    and  all  the  wife   can  do, 
will  be  to  avoid  that  half  of  them  which  would  be  produced 
by  our  own  follies   and  our  own  adls    of  injuftice  ;  and  to 
make  for  [he  other  half  the  beft  preparations  we  can.     Of 
what  nature  fhould  thefe  be  ?  A  land  army  would  be  ufclefs 
for  ofience,  and  not  the  belt  nor  fafeft  inftrument  of  defence. 


(     175    ) 

For  either  of  thefe  purpofes,  the  fca  is  the  fuld  on  \vhic;h 
we  (hould  meet  an  European  enemy.  On  that  element  it  is 
neceflary  we  fhouki  pofTcfs  Tome  power.  To  aim  at  fuch  a 
navy  as  the  greater  nations  of  Europe  poflcfs,  would  l)e  a 
foolifh  and  wicked  wade  of  the  energies  of  our  counrrvmen. 
It  would  be  to  pull  on  our  own  heads  th^t  load  of  military 
cxpence  which  makes  the  European  labourer  go  fupperlefs 
to  bed,  and  moiftcns  his  bread  with  the  fweat  of  his  brows. 
It  will  be  enough  if  we  enable  ourfelves  -to  prevent  infults 
from  thofe  nations  of  Europe  which  are  weak  on  the  fea, 
becaufe  circumftances  exiil,  which  render  even  the  ftrong- 
er  ones  weak  as  to  us.  Providence  has  placed  their  richeft 
and  mod  defencelefs  polTeffions  at  our  door ;  has  obliged 
their  mod  precious  commerce  to  pafs  as  it  were  in  review  be- 
fore us.  To  protect  this,  or  to  alfall,  a  fmall  part  only  of 
their  naval  force  will  ever  be  rifqued  acrofs  the  Atlantic. — 
The  dangers  to  which  the  elements  expofe  them  here  are 
too  well  known,  and  the  greater  dangers  to  which  they 
would  be  expofed  at  home  were  any  general  calamity  to  in- 
volve their  whole  fleet.  They  can  attack  us  by  detachment 
only  ;  and  it  will  fuffice  to  make  ourfelves  equal  to  what  they 
may  detach.  Even  a  fmaller  force  than  they  may  detach 
will  be  rendered  equal  or  fuperior  by  the  quicknefs  with 
which  any  check  may  be  repaired  with  us,  while  lofTes  with 
them  will  be  irreparable  till  too  late.  A  fmall  naval  force 
then  is  fufficient  for  us,  and  a  fmall  one  is  neceffary.  What 
this  flioult!  be,  1  will  not  undertake  to  fay.  I  will  only  fay, 
it  Ihoifld  by  no  means  be  fo  great  as  we  are  able  to  make  it. 
Suppofethe  million  of  dollars,  or  300,000!.  which  Virginia 
could  annually  fpare  without  diflrefs,  to  be  applied  to  the 
creating  a  navy.  A  fingle  year's  contribution  would  build, 
equip,  man,  and  fend  to  fea  a  force  which  fliould  carry  300 
guns.  The  reft  of  the  confederacy,  exerting  themfelves  in  ■ 
the  fame  proportion,  would  equip  in  the  fame  time  1 500  guns 
more.  So  that  one  year's  contributions  would  fet  up  a  na- 
vy of  J  800  guns.  The  Britifh  fliips  of  the  Hne  average  ']6 
guns  ;  their  frigates  38.  1800  guns  then  would  form  a 
fleet  of  30  fliips,  18  of  which  might  be  of  the  line,  and  12 
frigates.  Allowing  8  men,  the  Britifli  average,  for  every 
gun,  their  annual  expence,  including  fubfiftence,  clothing, 
pay,  and  ordinary  repairs,  would  be  about  1280  dollars  fo 

Y2 


(   »76  ; 

every  gun,  or  2,304,000  dollsrs  for  the  whole.  I  ftate  this 
only  as  one  year's  polllble  exertion,  without  deciding  whe- 
ther more  or  lefs  than  a  year's  exertion  fhould  be  thus  ap- 
plied. 

The  value  of  our  lands  and  flaves,  taken  conjun6lly,  dou- 
bles in  about  twenty  years.  This  arifes  from  the  multiplica- 
tion of  our  flaves.  from  the  extenfion  of  culture,  and  en- 
creafed  demand  for  lands.  The  amount  of  what  may  be 
raifed,  will  ol  courfe  rife  in  the  fame  proportion.      '    ' 


C^U  E  R  Y     XXIII. 

_|^  H  E  Jjiflories  of  the  Jlate,  the  memorials  pnhlijloed  in  iu 
7ia?iie  in  the  time  of  its  being  a  colony^  and  the  pa?nphlets  relating 
ia  its  interior  or  exterior  affairs  prejent  or  ancient  ? 

Captain  Smith,  who  next  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  rn^y  be. 
confidered  as  the  founder  of  our  colony,  has  written  its 
hidory,  from  the  fir  ft  adventures  to  it  till  the  year  1624. 
He  was  a  member  of  the  council,  and  afterwards  prefident 
ot  the  colony  ;  and  to  his  efforts  principally  may  be  afcrib- 
ed  its  fupport  againft  the  oppofition  of  the  natives.  He  was 
honed,  fenfible,  and  well  informed  ;  but  his  flyle  is  bar- 
barous and  uncouth.  Ilishidory,  however,  is  almofl:  the 
only  fource  from  which  we  derive  any  knowledge  of  the 
infancy  of  our  flate. 

The  reverend  William  Stith,  a  native  of  Virginia,  ?nd 
prefident  of  its  college,  has  alfo  written  the  hiilory  of  the 
fame  period,  in  a  large  octavo  volume  of  fmall  print.  He 
V'as  a  man  of  claffical  learning,  and  very  exa*:!,  but  of  no- 
lafte  in  (iyle.  lie  is  inelegant,  therefore,  and  iiis  details 
often  too  minute  to  be  tolerable,  even  to  a  native  of  the 
country,  whofe  hiilory  he  writes. 

Beverley,  a  native  alfo,  has  run  into  the  other  extreme  ; 
lie  has  cornprifed  our  hiilory,  from  the  firft  propofitions  of 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh  to  the  year  1700,  in  the  hundredth 
part  ol  the  fpace  which  Stith  employs  for  the  fourth  part 
of  the  period. 

Sir  Willliam  Keith  has  taken  it  up  at  its  earliefl  period, 
and  continued  it  to  the  yeari725.     He  i;>  agreeable  enough 


c   ^n   ) 

iu  flylc,  and  paffes  over  events  of  little  importance.  Ol 
courre  he  is  fhort,  and  would  be  preferred  by  a  foreigner. 

During  the  regal  government,  feme  contcit  arofe  on  the 
exaction  of  an  illegal  fee  by  governor  Dinwiddie,  and  doubt- 
lefs  there  were  others  on  other  occafions  not  at  prefent 
recollected.  It  is  fuppofed,  that  thefe  are  not  fufHciently 
intereding  to  a  foreigner  to  merit  a  detail. 

The  petition  of  the  council  and  burgcffes  of  Virginia  to 
the  king,  their  memorial  to  the  lords,  and  remonftrance  to 
the  commons  in  the  year  1764,  began  the  prefent  contefl:  \ 
and  thefe  having  proved  ineffedlual  to  prevent  the  paflage 
of  the  (tamp-acl,  the  refolutions  of  the  houfe  of  burgefles  of 
1765  were  pafled,  declaring  the  independence  of  the  people 
of  Virginia  on  the  parliament  of  Great-Britain,  in  matters 
of  taxation.  From  that  time  till  the  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence by  Congrefs  in  ^']']^'i  their  journals  are  fdled 
with  aflertions  of  the  public  rights. 

The  pamphlets  publilhed  in  this  (late  on  the  controverted 
Cjucltion  were, 

1766,  An  inquiry  into  the  rights  of  the  Britilh  Colonies, 
by  Richard  Bland. 

1769,  The  Monitor's  Letters,  by  Dr.  Arthur  Lee. 

1774,  *A  fummary  View  of  the  rights  of  Britifli  America. 

1774,  Confiderations,  &c.  by  Robert  Carter  Nicholas. 

Since  the  declaration  of  independence  this  ftate  has  had 
no  controverfy  with  any  other,  except  with  that  of  Penn- 
fylvania,  on  their  common  boundary.  Some  papers  on 
this  fubjedt  paffed  between  the  executive  and  legiflative  bo- 
dies of  the  two  (fates,  the  refult  of  which  was  a  happy  ac- 
commodation of  their  rights. 

To  this  account  of  our  hlftorians,  memorials  and  pam- 
phlets, it  may  not  be  unufeful  to  add  a  chronological  cata- 
logue of  American  flate-papers,  as  far  as  I  have  been  able 
to  collect  their  titles.  It  is  far  from  being  either  complete 
or  correct.  Where  the  title  alone,  and  not  the  paper  itfelf 
lias  come  under  my  obfervation,  I  cannot  anfwer  for  the 
exadnefs  of  the  date.  Sometimes  I  have  not  been  able  to 
find  any  date  at  all,  and  fometimes  have  not  been  fatified 
that  fuch  a  paper  cxifls.  An  extenfive  colleclion  of  papers 
Qf  this  defcription  has  been  for  fome  time  in  a  courfe  of  pre- 

*"  By  th?  author  of  these  notes.. 


C    17S    ) 

paration  by  a  gentleman  *  fully  equal  to  the  talk,  and  from 

whom,  therefore,  we  may  liope  ere  long  to  receive  it.     In 

the  mean  time  accept  this  as  the  refult  of  my  labours,  and 

as  clofmg  the  tedious  detail  which  you  have  lo  undefignedly 

drawn  upon  yourfelf. 

1496,  Mar.  5.  II.  H.  7.  Pro  Johonne  Caboto  et  filiis  fuis 
fuper  terra  incognita  inveftigaiida.  12.  Ry.  595.  3.  HakU 
4.   2.  Mem.   Am.  490. 

1498,  Feb.  3.  13.  H.  7.  Billa  fignata  anno  13.  Henrici  fep- 
timi.  3.  Hakluyt*s  voiages  5. 

1502,  Dec.  19,  18.  H.  7.  De  poteftatibus  ad  terras  incog- 
nitas inveitigandum.      i  ?.  Rymer.    2)7' 

1540,  Od.  17.  CommilTion  de  Frangois  I.  a  Jacques  Catier 
pour  reftcbliffement  du  Canada,  L'Efcarbot.  397.  2. 
Mem.  Am.  416. 

1548. — 2.  £.  6.  An  acl  againft  the  exaftion  of  money,  or 
any  other  thing,  by  any  officer  for  licenfe  to  traffique  in- 
to Ifeland  and  Newfoundland,  made  in  An.  2.  Edwardi 
fexti    3.  Hakl.  131. 

1578,  June  II.  20.  /'/.  The  letters-patent  granted  by  herma- 
jeftie  to  fir  Humphrey  Gilbert,  knight,  for  the  inhabiting 
and  planting  of  our  people  in  -merica.  3  Hakl.  135. 

1583,  Feb.  6.  Letters-patents  of  queen  Ehzabeth  to  Adrian 
Gilbert  and  others,  to  difcover  the  north-wefl  paflage  to 
China.     3-  Hakl.  96. 

J584,  Mar.  25.  26  FJ.  The  letters-patent  granted  by  the 
queen's  majeflie  to  Walter  Raleigh,  now  knight,  for  the 
dilcovering  and  planting  of  new  lands  and  countries,  to 
continue  the  Ipace  of  fix  years  and  no  more  3-  Hakl.  243. 

H.  ■  Mar.  7,  35-  FJ.  An  allignment  by  fir  Walter  Raleigh 
for  continuing  the  a6lion  ot  inhabiting  and  planting  his 
people  in  Virginia.  Hakl    ift.  ed.  publ.  in  1589    p.  815. 

1603,  Nov.  8.  Lettres  de  Lieutenant  General  de  I'Acadie  & 
pays  circonvoifins  pour  leSieurdeMonts.  L*f  fcarbot.  417. 

i6o6,  Jpril  )c^  4.  j'ac.  L  Letters-patent  to  Sir  Thomas 
Gates,  Sir  George  Somers  and  others,  for  two  feveral 
colonies  to  be  made  in  Virginia  and  other  parts  of  Ameri- 
ca. Stith.  Apend.  No.  L 

16*07,  Mar.  9,  4.  Jac.  I.  An   ordinance  and  conftitution 
enlarging  the  council  of  the  two  colonies  in  Virginia  and 
America,  and  augmenting  their  authority,  M«  S. 
*  Mr.  Hazard. 


(      '79     ) 

1609,  May  23,  7.  'Jac.  I.  The  fcconJ  charter  to  the  trca- 
lurer  and  coaipany  iOr  Virginia,  creding  thtim  inio  a  body 
politic.  Stith  Apend.  2. 

1610,  A-pr.  ic.  'Jdc.  I.  Letiers-patent  fo  the  E  of  North- 
ampton, granting  part  of  the  illand  of  Newfoundland,  i 
Harris,   861. 

1611,  Mar.  12,  9.  yac.  I.  A  third  charter  to  the  trcafurcr 
and  company  for  Virginia.  Stith,  Ap.  3. 

1617, — ydc.  I.   A  cominilTion  to  bir  Walter  Raleigh.    Qii? 
1620,  Apt .  7,  '  8.   ''jac.  I.   Commiflio  fpecialis  ccncern'ens  le 

garbling  herbcC  Nocotianse.  17.  Rym-  190. 
1620,  June  2g^  18.  Jac.l.  A  proclamation  for  reflraint  of 

the  difordered  trading  of  tobacco.    17.  Rym.  233. 

1620,  Nov.  3.  Jac.  I.  A  grant  of  New-England  to  the 
council  of  Plymouth. 

1621,  July  24.  Jac.  I.  An  ordinance  and  conftitution  of 
the  trtafurer,  council  and  company  in  England,  for  a 
council  of  Hate  k  general  affembly  in  Virginia.  Stith  ap.  4. 

\62i,Sep.  10,  20.  Jac.  I.  A  grant  of  Nova  Scotia  to  Sir 
William  Alexander,  2  Mem.  de  I'Amerique.  193. 

1622,  Nov.  6,  20.  Jac.  I.  A  proclamation  prohibiting  in- 
terloping and  diforderly  trading  to  New-England  in  Ame- 
rica.   17    Rym.  416. 

1623,  ^^y  9>  ^^*  y^^'  ^'  ^^  commiflione  fpeciali  Wilel- 
mo  Jones  militi  directa  17.  Rym.  490. 

1623,  A  grant  to  Sir  Edmund  Ployden,  of  New- Albion. — 
Mentioned  in  Smith's  examination.  82. 

1624,  July  15,  22.  Jac.  I.  De  Commiflione  Henrico  vice 
comiti  Mandevill  &  aliis.    17.  Rym.  609. 

1624,  Aug.  26,  22.  Jac  I.  De  Commiffione  fpeciali  concer- 
nenti  gubernationem  in  Virginia.   17  Rym.  6)8. 

1624,  Sep.  29,  22.  Jac.  I.  A  proclamation  concerning  to- 
bacco, 17  Rym.  62  1. 

1624.  Nov.  g,  22.  Jac.l.  De  concefTionc  demifs,  Edvardo 
Ditchfitld  et  aliis,   17  Rym.  633 

1625,  M^r.  2i  22.  Jac.l.  A  proclamation  for  the  utter  prohi- 
biting  the  importation  and  ufe  of  all  tobacco  which  is  not 
of  the  proper  growth  of  the  colony  of  Virginia  and  the 
Somer  iflands,  or  oneof  them.  i7  Rym.  c6i) 

1625,  Alar.  4,7.  Car.  I.  De  commJllione  direda  Georgio 
Yardeley  miuu  a  aliis.   18  Rym.  3 1 1 


(     i8o     ) 

1625,  j^pr.  9,  I.  Car.  I.  Proclamatio  de  herba  NIcotlana 

18  Rym.  19 
1625,  M<2j/ 13,  I.  CarA.  A  proclamation  for  fettling  the 

plantation  of  Virginia,   18  Rym.  -72 

1625,  'July  11.  A  grant  of  the  foil,  barony  and  domains  of 
Nova  Scoria  to  Sir  WiUiam  Alexander  of  Minftrie,  2 
Mem.  Am.  226 

1626,  7^72.31,  2.  Car.  I.  Commiffio  direda  Johanni  Wol- 
ftenholme  militi  et  aliis,  18  Rym.    831 

2626,  Teb.  17,2.  Car,  I.  A  proclamation  touching  tobacco 
Rym.  848 

1627,  Mar.  19,  Qii?  2.  Car.  I.  A  grant  of  MalTachufett's 
bay  by  the  council  of  Plymouth  to  Sir  Henry  Rofweli  and 
others 

1627,  Ai<5r.  26,  3.  Car.  I.  De  conceflione  commilTionis  fpe- 
cialit  pro  concilio  in  Virginia,   18  Rymer  980 

1627,  Mar.  30,  3.  Car.  I.  De  proclamatione  de  fignatione 
de  tobacco,   18  Rymer  886  * 

1627,  Jag.  9,3.  Car.  I.  De  proclamatione  pro  ordinatione 
de  tobacco,   i  8  Rymer  920 

1628,  Mar.  4,3.  Car.  I.  A  confirmation  of  the  grant  of 
Maflachufett's  bay  by  the  crown 

1629,  Aiiguji  ig.  The  capitulation  of  Quebec.  Champlain 
part.  2.  21 6.  2  Mem.  Am.  489 

1630,  Jan.  6,  5.  Car,  I.  A  proclamation  concerning  tobac- 
co,  19  Rymer  235 

1630,  April  T^o,  Conveyance  of  Nova  Scotia  (Port  Royal 
excepted)  by  fir  William  Alexander  to  fir  Claude  St.  Kti- 
enne  Lord  of  LaTour  and  of  Uarre  and  to  his  fon  fir 
Charles  St.  Etienne  Lord  of  St.  Dennifcourt,  on  condition 
that  they  continue  fubjeds  to  the  King  of  Scotland  under 
the  great  feal  of  Scotland. 

1630-31,  Nov.  24,  6.  Car.  L  A  proclamation  forbidding  the 
diforderly  trading  with  the  favages  in  New-England  in  A- 
merica,  efpecially  the  furnifning  the  natives  in  thofe  and 
other  parts  of  America  by  the  Lnghili  with  weapons  and 
habiliments  of  war.   19   Rymer  210.  3.  Ruihw.  82. 

1630,  Dec.  5,  6.  Car.  I.  A  proclamation  prohibiting  the 
felling  arms,  &:c.  to  the  favages  in  America.  Mentioned 
3  Ruihw.  75  ^ 

1630, — Car.l.  A  grant  of  Conne£licut  by  the  council  of 
Plymouth  to  the  Earl  of  Warwick 


C    isi    ) 

1630, — Car.  I.  A  confirmation  by  the  crown  of  the  grant 
of  Connedicut  [faiJ  to  be  in  the  petty-bag  ollicc  in  Eng- 
land.] 

163 1,  March  19,  6  dir.  I.  A  conveiance  of  Connc(5licut 
by  the  earl  of  Warwick  to  lord  Say  and  Seal  and  others : 
Smith's  examination,  appendix  No.  i. 

1631,  June  27,  7  Car.  I.  A  fpecial  commiflion  to  Edward 
earl  of  Dorlett  and  others  for  the  better  plantation  of  the 
colony  of  Virginia,   19  Rymer  301. 

1631,  jioie  29,  7  Car.  I.  Litere  continentes  promiflioneni 
regis  ad  tradenum  caftrum  et  habitationem  de  Kebcc  in 
Canada  ad  regem  Francorum,  19  Rymer  303. 

1632,  March  ig,  8  Car.  I.  Traite  entre  le  roy  Louis  XIII 
et  Charles  roi  d'Angleterre  pour  la  reftitution  de  la  nou- 
velle  France,  la  Cadie  et  Canada  et  des  navircs  et  merch- 
nndifes  pris  de  part  et  d'autrie.  Fait  a  Saint  Germain,  19 
Rymer  361.  2  Mem.  Am.  5 

1632,  June  20,  8  Car.  I.  A  grant  of  Maryland  to  Csccili- 
us  Calvert,  baron  of  Baltimore  in  Ireland. 

1633,  yifly  ^,  9  Car.  I.  A  petition  of  the  planters  of  Virgi- 
nia againft:  the  grant  to  lord  Baltimore. 

^^33^  y^h'  3* — Order  of  council  upon  the  difpute  between 
the  Virginia  planters  and  lord  Baltimore.  Votes  of  the  re- 
prefentatives  of  Pennfylvania,  V. 

1633,  Au^uji  13,  9  Car.  I.  A  proclamation  to  prevent  abu- 
les  growing  by  the  unordered  retailing  of  tobacco.  Men- 
tioned 3  Rufhw.  191 

1633,  Septeinbcr  23,  9  Car.  I.  A  fpecial  commiflion  to  Tho- 
mas Young  to  fearch,  difcover  and  find  out  what  parts 
are  not  yet  inhabited  in  Virginia  and  America,  and  other 
•parts  thereunto  adjoining,   19  Rymer  472 

1633,  Odober  13,  g  Car.  I.  A  proclamation  for  preventing 
of  theabufes  growing  by  the  unordered  retailing  of  tobac- 
co,  19  Rymer  474 

1633,  ^^^'^^'(^Ij  13?  Car.  I.  A  proclamation  reftraining  the 
abufive  vending  of  tobacco,  19  Rymer  522 

1634,  May  19,  \oCar.  I.  A  proclamation  concerning  the 
landing  of  tobacco,  and  alfo  forbidding  the  planting  there- 
of in  the  king's  dominions,    19  Rymer  553 

J 634, — Car.  I.  A  commifTion  to  the  archbi'.hop  of  Canter- 
bury and  eleven  others,  for  governing  the  American  co- 
lonies. 

Z 


(     i82     ) 

1634,  yune  ig,  lo  Car.  I,  A  commiffion  concerning  tobac- 
co, M.  S. 

1635,  July  18,  II  Car.  I.  A  commifTion  from  lord  Say  & 
Seal,  and  others  to  John  Winthrop  to  be  governor  of 
Connecticut.  Smith's  appendix 

1635, — Car.  I.  A  grant  to  Duke  Hamilton. 

i6t^6,  April 2^  12  Car.  I  De  commiffione  fpeciali  JohannI 
Harvey  militi  pro  meliori  regemine  colonise  in  Virginia, 
20  Rymer  3. 

1637,  March  14,  Car.  I.  A  proclamation  concerning  to- 
bacco,  litlc  in  3  Rufliw.  617 

l6'T)6-j^  March  16,  12  Car.  I.  De  commiffione  fpeciali  Geor- 
gio  domino  Goring  et  aliis  conceffa  concernente  venditi- 
onem  de  tobacco  abfque  iicentia  regia,  20  Rymer  1 16 

1637,  April -T^o^  13  Car.l.  A  proclamation  againft  difor- 
derly  tranfporting  his  Majefly's  fubjecls  to  the  plantations 
within  the  parts  of  America,  20  Rymer  1 43.  3  Rufh.  409. 

1637,  May  i^  1 2,  Car.l.  An  order  of  the  Privy  Council  to 
flay  eight  ihips  now  in  the  Thames  from  going  to  New- 
England,  3  Rufhw.  409 

1637, — Car.  I.  A  warrant  of  the  lord  admiral  to  flop  un- 
conformable minifters  from  going  beyond  fea,  3  Ru.  410. 

1638,  /jpril  4,  Car.l.  Order  of  council  upon  Claiborne's 
petition  againft  lord  Baltimore.  Votes  of  Reprefentatives 
of  Pennfylvania,  VI. 

1938,  April  6,  15  Car.  I.  An  order  of  the  king  and  coun- 
cil that  the  attorney-general  draw  up  a  proclamation  to 
prohibit  tranfportation  of  paffengers  to  New-England^ 
without  licence,  3  Rufhw.  718. 

1638,  May  I,  14  Car.  I.  A  proclamation  to  redrain  the 
tranfporting  of  paffengers  and  provifions  to  New-Englan,d 
without  licence,  20  Rymer  223. 

1639,  March  25,  Car.  I.  A  proclamation  concerning  to- 
bacco. Title  4  Rufliw,  1060. 

1639,  Auguji  19,  15  Car.  I.  A  proclamation  declaring  his 
majefly's  pleafure  to  continue  his  commiffion  and  letters- 
patents  for  licenfi ng  retailers  of  tobacco,  20  Rymer  348. 

1639,  December  16,  15  Car,  I.  De  commiffione  fpcciah  Hen- 
rico Affiton  armigero  et  aliis  ad  amovendum  Henricum 
Hawley  gubernatorem  de  Barbadoes,  20  Rymer  357. 

1639, —  Car.  I.  A  proclamation  concerning  retailers  of  to- 
bacco, 4  Rufh.  966. 


(     i83     ) 

1641,  Av.gujl  (^^  ^yCar.l.  De  conflltutionegubernatoris  et 
concilii  pro  Virginia,  20  Rymer  4H4. 

1643, — Car.  I.  Articles  of  union  and  coufrderacy  entered 
into  by  Mairacluuetts,  Plymouth,  Connecticut  and  New- 
haven,   I  Ncale  223. 

1644, — Car.  I.  Deed  from  George  Fenwick  to  the  old  Con- 
necl:icut  jurisdiction. 

An  ordinance  of  the  lords  and  commons  affembled  in  parli- 
ament, for  exempting  from  cuflom  and  impofition  all 
commodities  exported  for,  or  imported  from  New- ling- 
land,  which  has  been  very  profperous  and  viithout  any 
public  charge  to  this  (late,  and  is  likely  to  prove  very  hap- 
py for  the  propagation  of  the  gofpel  in  thofe  parts.  Title 
in  American  hbrary  90.  5.  No  date.  But  feems  by  the 
neighbouring  articles  to  have  been  in  one  thoufand  fix 
hundred  and  forty-four. 

1644,  June  20,  Car.  II.  An  act  for  charging  of  tobacco 
brought  from  New-England  with  cuftom  and  excife.  Title 
in  American  library,  99.  8. 

1644,  Augujl  I,  Car.  II.  An  aft  for  the  advancing  and  re- 
gulating the  trade  of  this  commonwealth.  Title  in  Ame- 
rican library,  99.  9. 

September  1^,  i  Car.W.  Grant  of  the  Northern  neck  of 

Virginia  to  lord  Hopton,    lord  Jermyn,  lord  Culpepper, 
■  fir  John  Berkley,  fir  William  Moreton,   fir  D  udly  Wy- 
att  and  Thomas  Culpeper. 

1650,  October  3,  2  Car.  II.  An  aft  prohibiting  trade  with 
the  Barbadoes,  Virginia,  Bermudas  and  Antego.  Sco- 
bell's  afts,   1027. 

1650, — Car.W.  A  declaration  of  lord  Willoughby,  gover- 
nor of  Barbadoes,  arid  of  his  council,  againil  an  aft  of 
parliament  of  the  3d  of  Oftober  1650.  4  Political  Regif- 
ter.  1  cited  from  4  Neale's  hiflory  of  the  Puritans,  ap- 
pendix No.  12  but  not  there. 

1650, — C^r.  II.  A  final  fettlement  of  boundaries  between 
the  Dutch  New  Netherlands  and  Connefticut. 

165 1,  September  26,  3  C^r.  II.  Inflruftions  for  captain  Ro- 
bert Dennis,  Mr.  Richard  Bennet,  Mr.  Thomas  Stagge, 
and  captain  William  Claibourn,  appointed  com.milTioners 
for  the  reducing  of  Virginia  and  the  inhabitants  thereol  to 


C    184    ) 

their  due  obedience  to  the  commonwealth  of  England,  i 
Thurloe's  ftate  papers  197. 

1651,  Cdober  g,  3  Car.  II.  An  acl  for  increafe  of  fliipping 
and  encouragement  of  the  navigation  of  this  nation,  Sco- 
bell's  afts,   1449. 

1651-2,  March  12,  4  Car.  II.  Articles  agreed  on  and  con- 
cluded at  James  citie  in  Virginia  tor  the  furrendering  and 
fettling  of  that  plantation  under  the  obedience  and  go- 
vernment of  the  commonwealth  of  England,  by  the  com- 
milTioners  of  the  council  of  ftate,  by  authoritie  of  the  par- 
liament of  England,  and  by  the  grand  afl'emblie  of  the 
governor  council  and  burgefle  of  that  ftate,  M.  S.  [Ante 
p.  206.] 

1651-2,  March  '2,  4  C^r.  II.  An  acl  of  indempnitie  made 
at  the  furrender  of  the  countrey  fof  Virginia. J  [Ante  p. 
206.] 

1654,  /l:{g7(ft  16.  Capitulation  de  Port  Royal,  Mem.  Am. 

16  z^^^ — Car.  II.  A  proclamation  of  the  protedor  relating  to 
Jamaica,  3  Thurl.  y ^. 

1655,  September  16,  7  C^r.  II.  The  protector  to  the  com- 
miftioners  of  Ivlaryland.  A  letter.   4  Thurl.  55. 

1655,  GcIolcrS,  7  Car.  II.  An  inftrument  made  at  the 
council  of  Jamaica  October  8,  one  thoufand  fix  hundred 
and  fifty-five,  for  the  better  carrying  on  of  afiairs  there. 
4  Thurl.  27. 

1 6^^,  No-ve?nber  3. — Treaty  of  Weftminfter  between  France 
and  England,  6  corps,  diplom.  part.  2.  p.  121.  2  Mem. 
Am.  10. 

1656,  March  27,  8  Car.  II.  The  aflembly  of  Barbadoes  to 
the  protedor,  4  Thurl.  651. 

J656,  Aiigvjl  9. — A  grant  by  Cromwell  to  fir  Charles  de 
Saint  ttleniie,  a  baron  of  Scocland,  Crowne  and  Temple, 
a  French  cranllation  of  it.  2  Mem.  Am.  511. 

1656,— ^C^r.  11.  A  paper  concerning  the  advancement  of 
trade,  5  Thurl.  80. 

1656, — C^;r.  II.  A  brief  narration  of  the  Engllfh  rights  to 
the  Northern  parts  of  America,  5  Thurl.  81. 

1656,  October  \o^  8  Car.  II.  Mr.  R.  Bennet  and  Mr.  S. 
Matthew  to  Secretary  Thurlow,    5  Thurl.  482. 

1656,  O^obcr  ;o,  8  Car.  II.  Objedions  againft  the  lord 
Baltimore's  patent,  and  reafons  v.hv  the  government  of 
Maryland  fLould  not  be  put  into  Li.-  ;  ands,  5  Thurl.  *^2.- 


C    ^^s    ) 

1656,  October  10,  8  Car.  II.  A  paper  relating  to  MarylanJ. 
5  Thurl.  483. 

1656,  Oclobcr  10,  8  Car.  II.  A  breviet  of  the  proceedings 
ot  the  lord  Baltimore  and  his  ofTicers  and  compilers  ni 
Maryland,  againft  the  authority  of  the  parliament  of  the 
commonwealth  of  Kngland  and  againil  his  highnefs  the 
lord   protector's    authority,    laws    and    government.     5 

Thurl.  486. 

1656,  October  15,  8  Car.  II.  The  affembly  of  Virginia  to 
fecretary  Thurlow.   5  Thurl.  497. 

1657,  Ap-ril  4,  9  Car.  II.  The  governor  of  Barbadoes  to  the 
protedlor.  6  Thurl.  169. 

1661, — Car.  II.  Petition  of  the  general  court  at  Hartford 
upon  Connecticut  for  a  charter.  Smith's  examination,  ap- 
pendix 4. 

1662,  //>r/7  23,  14  Car.  II.  Charter  of  the  colony  of  Con- 
ne£licut.  Smith's  e^ani.  app.  6. 

1662-3,  March  14.,  April  j\.y  i^Car.W.  The  firft  charter 
granted  by  Charles  II.  to  the  proprietories  of  Carolina, 
to  wit,  to  the  earl  of  Clarendon,  duke  of  Albemarle,  lord 
Craven,  lord  Berkeley,  lord  Afliley,  lir  George  Carteret, 
fir  William  Berkeley  and  fir  John  Colleton,  4  Mem. 
Am.  554. 

1664,  February  10. — The  conceflions  and  agreement  of  the 
lords  proprietors  of  the  province  of  New  Caefarea,  or  New 
Jerfey,  to  and  with  all  and  every  of  the  adventurers  and 
all  fuch  as  fliall  fettle  or  plant  there.  Smith's  New  Jerfey, 
appendix  i. 

1664,  March  12.,  20  Car.  W.  A  grant  of  the  colony  of  New 
York  to  the  Duke  of  York. 

1664,  April  26,  16  Car.  II.  A  commilfion  to  colonel  Nichols 
and  others  to  fettle  difputes  in  New-Jingland.  riucchinfon's 
hift.  MafT.  Bay.  App.  537. 

1664,  April  26, — The  commifTion  to  fir  Robert  Carre  and 
others  to  put  the  Duke  of  York  in  poflelfion  of  New 
York,  New  Jerfey,  and  all  other  lands  thereunto  apper- 
taining. 

Sir  Robert  Carre  and  others  proclamation  to  the  inhabitants 
of  New  York,  New  Jerfey,  &c.  Smith's  N.  J.  36. 

1664,  .7«'^^  23,  24,  16  Car.  II.  Deeds  of  leafe  and  releafe  of 
New  Jerfey  by  the  Duke  of  York  to  lord  Berkeley  and  fir 
George  Carteret. 

Aa 


(     iS6    ) 

A  conveiance  of  the  Delaware  counties  to  William  Penii. 

1664,  ^^s'-/^  ^9''^9^  20-30,  24.  7  Letters  between  Stuyve- 
Augiiji  1'^^  September  A^  3    fant  and  colonel  Nich- 

ols on  the  Englifli  right.  Smith's  N.  J.  37 — 42. 

1664,  Aitgvjl  27 — Treaty  between  the  Englifh  and  Dutch 
for  the  lurrender  of  the  New  Netherlands.  Smith's  New 
Jerfey42. 

September  3. — NicolPs  commiilion  to  fir  Robert  Carre 

to  reduce  the  Dutch  on  Delaware  bay.  Smith's  N.  J.  47. 

Inftruftlons  to  fir  Robert  Carre  for  reducing  of  Delaware 
bay  and  fettling  the  people  there  under  his  majefty's  obe- 
dience.   Sm.  N.  J.  47. 

1664,  December  i,  16  Car.  II.  i^rtlcles  of  capitulation  be- 
tween fir  Robert  Carre  and  the  Dutch  and  Swedes  on  De- 
laware Bay  and  Delaware  River.  Smith's  N.  J.  49. 

1664,  December  i,  16  Car.  II.  The  determination  of  the 
commillioners  of  the  boundary  between  the  Duke  of  York 
and  Connedicut.  Sm.  exam.  app.  9. 

1664, — The  New  ?Iaven  cafe.  Smith's  examination,  ap.  20. 

1665,  Jujie  I  T,-24.,  ly  Car.  II.  The  fecond  charter  granted 
by  Charles  II.  to  the  fame  proprietors  of  Carohna.  4  M. 
Am.  586. 

1666,  January  16 — Declaration  de  guerre  par  la  France 
contre  I'Angleterre,   3  Mem.  Am.  123. 

1666,  February  C)y  ij  Car.  II.  Declaration  of  war  by  the 
king  ot  England  againfl:  the  king  of  France. 

1667,  July  31. — The  treaty  of  peace  between  France  and 
England  made  at  Breda.  7  Corps.  Dipl.  part  i.p.  41.  2 
Mem.  Am.  32. 

1667,  '^"h  3^» — "^^^  treaty  of  peace  and  alliance  between 
Jutland  and  the  United  Provinces  made  at  Breda.  .7 
Cor.  Dip.  p.  I.  p-  44.  2  PJem.  Am.  40. 

1667-8,  February  17, — Aftc  de  la  ceflion  del'Acadle  au  rol 
de  France.   2  Mem.  -Am,  40. 

1668,  j^pril  21 — Direclions  from  the  governor  and  coun- 
cil of  New  York  for  a  better  fettlement  of  the  government 
on  Delaware.   Sm.  N.  j.    k\. 

1668, — Lovelace's  order  for  cullomsatthe  Hoarkills.  Sm. 

N.J.  55- 

16 — May  8,  21  C jr.  II.   A  confirmation  of  the  grant  of  the 

northern  neck  of  Virginia  to  the  earl  of  St.  Alban's,  lord 
Berkeley,  fir  William  Moreton  and  John  Tretheway. 


(     187     ) 

1672, — Incorporation  of  the  town  of  Newcafllc  or  Amdtll. 

167"^,  February  25.  25  Car.  II.  A  deniife  of  the  colony  of 
Virginia  to  the  carl  of  Arhngton  and  lord  Culpeper  for 
31  years.    M.  S. 

1673-4, — Treaty  at  London  between  king  Charles  II.  and 
the  Dutch.   Art.  VI. 

Remondrances  againd  the  two  grants  of  Charles  II.  of  nor- 
thern and  fouthern  Virginia.   Mentioned  Beverley  65. 

1674,  July  13, — Sir  George  Carteret's  inilrudions  to  gov- 
ernor Carteret. 

1674,  November  9, — Governor  Andros's  proclamation  on 
taking  polTellion  of  Newcaflle,  for  the  Duke  of  York. 
Sni.  N.  J.  78. 

1675,  OHober  1,  27  Car.  II.  A  proclamation  for  prohibit- 
ing the  importation  of  commodities  of  Europe  into  any 
of  his  majefty's  plantations  in  Africa,  Afia,  or  America, 
which  were  not  laden  in  England  :  for  putting  all  other 
laws  relating  to  the  trade  of  the  plantations  in  eiledual 
execution. 

1676,  Mareb  3 — The  conceflions  and  agreements  of  the 
proprietors,  freeholders,  and  inhabitants  of  the  province 
of  Weft  New  Jei'fey  in  America.   Sm.  N.  J.  ap.  2. 

1676,  Jw/y  I — A  deed  quintipartite  for  the  divifion  of  New 
Jerfey. 

1676,  Augujl  18 — Letter  from  the  proprietors  of  New  Jer- 
fey to  Richard  Hartfhorne.  Smith's  N.  J.  80. 

Proprietors  inflrudions  to  James  Waffe  and  Richard  Hartf- 
horne. Sm.  N.  J.  83. 

1676,  Odober  10,  28  Car.  II.  The  charter  of  king  Charles 
II.  to  his  fubjeds  of  Virginia.  M.  S. 

1676 — Cautionary  epiftle  from  the  truftees  of  Byllinge's  part 

of  New  Jerfey.  Sm.  N.  J.  84. 
i^jy.^    Septe?nber  ic — Indian  deed   for  the  lands  between 

Rankokas  creek  and  Timber  creek,  in  New  Jerfey. 

1677,  ^^pi^^^ber  zy — Indian  deed  for  the  lands  from  OIJ- 
man's  creek  to  Timber  creek.  New  Jerfey. 

1677,  Odober  10 — Indian  deed  for  the  lands  from  Ranko- 
kas creek  to  Affunpink  creek  in  New  Jerfey. 

1678,  December  5 — The  Will  of  fir  George  Carteret,  fole 
proprietor  of  Eaft  New  Jerfey,  ordering  the  fame  to  be 
fold. 

1680,  February  i6— An  order  for  the  king  in  council  for 


20,  2:.  ^ 

December  i6. 

16801,  Jan.  15,   22. 

February  24 


(       188       ) 

the  better  encouragement  of  all  his  majefty's  fubje6ls  in 
their  trade  to  his  majefty's  plantations,  and  for  the  bet- 
ter information  of  all  his  majefty's  loving  fubjefts  in  thefe 
matters.  London  Gazette,  N°.  1596.  Title  in  American 
library,   134.  6. 

1680 — Arguments  againfl  the  cufloms  demanded  in  Weft 
New  Jerley  by  the  governor  of  New  York,  addrefled  to 
the  Duke's  commiffioner".  Sm.  N.  J.   117. 

1680^  June  14,  2q,  25.]    Extradls  of  proceedings  of  the  com- 

OiSober  16. mittee  of  trade  and  plantations  ;   co- 

^°^*;?^^'"  ^^' ^^' [  pies  of  letters,  reports,  &c.  between 
the  board  of  trade,  Mr.  Penn,  lord 
Baltimore  and  fir  John  Werden,  in 
behalf  of  the  Duke  of  York  and  the 
fettlement  of  the  Pennfylvania  boundaries  by  the  Lieute- 
nant-colonel J.  North.  Votes  of  Reprefentatives  of  Penn- 
fylvania, vii. — xiii. 

168  f,  March  ^^  Car.W.  A  grant  of  Pennfylvania  to  Wil- 
liam Penn.  Votes  of  the  Reprefentatives  of  Pennfylva- 
nia, xviii. 

1681,  April  1 — The  king's  declaration  to  the  inhabitants 
and  planters  of  the  Province  of  Pennfylvania.  Votes  of 
the  Reprefentatives  of  Pennfylvania,  xxiv, 

1681,  July  1 1 — Certain  conditions  or  conceffions  agreed 
upon  by  William  Penn,  proprietary  and  governor  of 
Pennfylvania,  and  thofe  who  are  the  adventurers  and 
purchafers  in  the  fame  province.  Votes  of  the  Reprefen- 
tatives of  Pennfylvania,  xxiv. 

1681,  hovemhcr  9 — Fundamental  laws  of  the  Province  of 
Weft  New  Jerfey.  Sm.  iV.  J.   126. 

168  1-2,  January  \/^ — The    methods  of  the  commiflioners 

for  fettling  and  regulation  of  lands  in  New  Jerfey.  Smith's 

N.J,  130. 
160 1-2,  February  1-2, — Indentures  of  leafe   and  releafe  by 

the  executors  of   fir  George  Carteret   to   William  Penn 

and  eleven  others,  conveying  Eaft  Jerfey. 

1682,  March  i4---TheDuke  of  York's  frelh  grant  of  Eaft 
New  Jerfey  to  the  24  proprietors. 

1682,  /}pril  25— The  frame  of  the  government  of  the  Pro- 
vince of  Pennfylvania,  in  America.  Votes  of  the  Repre- 
fentatives of  Pennfylvania,  xxvii. 

1682,  Auguji  2i---The  Duke  of  York's  deed  for  Pennfyl- 
vania. Votes  Repr.  Penn.  xxxv. 


C    i^    ) 

jCiiS'c!,  Arf^U'?  2J, — The  Duke  of  York's  deed  of  fcoffmenfc 
of  Nevvciiltle,  and  twelve  miles  circle  to  William  Penn. 
Vol.  Rep.  Pcnn. 

16S2,  Au^uji  ij^ — The  Duke  of  York's  deed  of  feoffment 
of  a  trad  of  land  twelve  ir.ilcs  fouth  from  NtwcalUe  to 
the  Whorekills  to  Wilh'am  Penn.  Vol.  Rep.  Penn.  xxxvii. 

1682,  November  27,  34  C?r.  II.  A  commillioii  to  Thomas 
Lord  Culpeper  to  be  lieutenant  and  governor-general  of 
Virginia,  M.  S. 

3682,  10th  mon.  6th  day. — An  acl:  of  union  for  annexing 
and  uniting  ot  the  counties  of  Newcaffcle,  Jones's  and 
Whorekill's  alias  Deal,  to  the  province  of  Pennfylvania, 
and  of  naturalization  of  all  foreigners  in  the  province  ani 
counties  atorefaid. 

1682,  December  6, — An  act:  of  fettlement. 

1683,  ylpril2 — The  frame  of  the  government  of  the  pro* 
vince  of  Pennfylvania  and  territories  thereunto  annexed 
in  America. 

1685,  April  17,  27.  16S4,  Febr.  12.  '  1685,  Mar.  17.  "]  Pro- 
May  30.  July  2,  16,  2:?.  Awo.  18,  -6.  I  pppJ_ 
June  t2.                        September  30.              Scpter.ib.  2.  }    . 

December  9.  Oc.  8,1  7,31    |    ^"gS 

NOvcmb.    7. J  of  the 

committee  of  trade  and  plantations  in  thedifpute  between* 
lord  Baltimore  and  Mr.  Penn.,  Vol.  Rep.  Penn.  xiii — 
xviii. 

1683,  ju!y  ly — A  commiffion  by  the  proprietors  of  Eaft- 
New  Jerfey  to  Robert  Barclay,  to  be  governor.  Smith's 
N.J.  166. 

1683,  Ju/y,  26,  25  ^^^'  ^^'  -^^  order  of  council  for  ifluing 
a  quo  warranto  againd  the  charter  of  the  colony  of  the 
Priaffachufett's  Bay  in  New  England,  with  his  majefty's 
declaration  that  in  cafe  the  faid  corporation  of  Maffachu- 
fett's  Bay  fiiall  before  profecuticn  had  upon  the  fame  quo 
warranto  make  a  full  fubmiilion  .md  entire  refignation  to 
his  royal  pleafure,  he  v/ill  then  regulate  their  charter  in 
fuch  a  manner  as  fhall  be  for  his  fervice  and  the  good  of 
that  colony.  Title  in  American  library.    139.   6. 

1683,  Sept.  28,  35  Car.  II.  A  commillion  to  lord  How- 
ard of  Effingham  to  be  lieutenant  and  governor-general 
of  Virginia,  M.  S. 

1684,  May  1 — The  humble  addrefs  of  the  chief  governor,. 

Bb 


(     ^9°     ^ 

council  and  reprefentatives  of  the  Ifiand  of  Nevis,  in  the 
Wefl-Indies,  prefented  to  his  majefty  by  colonel  Nethe- 
way  and  captain  Jefterfon,  at-\VIndfor,  May  3,  16S4, 
Title  in  American  library  142.  3.  cites  London  Gazette 
,  No.  1927. 
1684,   yiKguJl  2 — A  treaty  with  the  Indians  at  Albany. 

1686,  J>Iovcmb.  16. — A  treaty  of  neutrality  for  America  be- 
tween France  and  England,  7  Corps.  Dipi.  part  2.  p.  44. 
2  Mem.  Am.  40. 

I-G87,  January  20 — By  the  i^ing,  a  proclamation  for  the 
more  effedual  reducing  and  fiippreiTmg  of  pirates  and  pri- 
vateers in  America,  as  well  on  the  fea  as  on  the  land  in 
great  numbers,  committing  frequent  robberies  and  pira- 
cies, which  hath  occafioned  a  great  prejudice  and  obftruc- 
tion  to  trade  and  commerce,  and  given  a  great  fcandal 
and  diPturbance  to  our  government  in  thofe  parts.  Title 
American  Hbrary  147.   2.  cites  London  Gaz-  No.  2315. 

1687,  Feb.  12 — Conftitution  of  the  council  of  proprietors' 
of  Weft  Jerfey.   Smith's  New  Jerfey  199. 

1687,  Qu.  September  27.  4  Jac.  IL  A  confirmation  of  the 
grant  of  the  northern  neck  of  Virginia  to  lord  Culpeper. 

1687,  September  5,     Governor   Coxe's   declaration    to  the, 
council  of  proprietors  of  Weft  Jerfey,  Sm.  N.  y.  190. 

1687,  December  16,  Provlfionai  treaty  of  Whitehall  concern- 
ing America  between  France  and  England,  2  Mem.  de  F- 
Am.  89. 

1687.  Governor  Coxe*s  narrative  relating  to  the  divifion 
line,  direfted  to  the  council  of  proprietors  of  Weft  Jer- 
fey. Sm.  app.  No.  4. 

1687.  The  reprefentation  of  the  council  of  proprietors  of 
V/eft  Jerfey  to  Governor  Burnet.  Smith's  app.  No.  5. 

The  remonftrance  and  petition  of  the. inhabitants  of  Eaft 
New  Jerfey  to  the  king.  Smith's  appendix  No.  8. 

The  memorial  of  the  proprietors  of  Faft  New  Jerfey  to  the 
lords  of  trade.  Smith's  appendix  No.  9. 

1 688,  Scpleinhcr  ^.  Agreement  of  the  line  of  partition  be- 
tween Eaft  and  Weft  New  Jerfey,    Smith's  N.  J.  196. 

1691.  Conveyance  of  the  government  of  Weft  Jerfey  and 
territories  by  Doftor  Coxe  to  the  Weft  Jerfey  foclety. 

1691,  Odober  7.  A  charter  granted  by  King  William  and 
Queen  Mary  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  province  of  MalTa- 
chufett' s  bay  in  New  j&nglai^d,    %  ]\lem.  de  TAra-  593. 


(     191     ) 

iGgG^  Jscvcmhcr 'J .  The  fr:\mc  of  f;ovcrnmcnt  of  the  pro- 
vince of  Pcnniylvr.nl;i  and  the  territories  thereunto  be- 
longincij,  palled  by  governor  Mark  ham,  Nov.  7,   1696. 

1697,  Sept.  cc.  The  treaty  of- peace  between  V'rance  and 
ingland,  made  at  Uyfwick,  7  Corps  Dipl.  part  2.  p.  '^2i^. 
1  Alem.  Am.  89. 

1699,  July  v  The  opinion  and  anfwer  of  the  Lords  of 
trade  to  the  memorial  of  the  proprietors  of  tall  New  Jcr- 
fey,  Sm.  app.  No.  10. 

1700,  January  15.  The  memorial  of  the  proprietors  of  Ealt 
Newjerley,  to  the  Lords  of  trade,  Sm.  app.  No.  11. 

The  petition  of  the  proprietors  of  Eaft  and  V/eft  New  Jcr- 
fcy  to  the  Lords  juftices  of  England,  Sm.  app.  No.  12. 

J  700, IV.  3.   A  confirmation  of  the  boundary  between 

the  colonies  of  New  York  and  Connecticut  by  the  trown- 

170  f,  A'ugu/}  \2.  The  memorial  of  the  proprietors  of  Eaft: 
and  Weft  Jerfey  to  the  king,  Sm.  app.  No.  14. 

1 701,  Oclobsr.  2.  Reprefentation  of  the  Lords  of  trade  to 
the  Lords  juftices.  Sm.  app.  No.  13, 

J 70 1.  Treaty  with  the  Indians. 

1701-2,  January  6.  Report  of  Lords  of  trade  to  King  Wil- 
liam of  drafts  of  a  commiflion  and  inftruftions  for  a  gover- 
nor of  New  Jerfey,  Smith's  A'".  J.   262. 

1 702,  ylpril  1 5.  Surrender  from  the  proprietors  of  Eafi:  and 
Weft  New  Jerfey  of  their  pretended  right  of  government 
to  her  majefty  Queen  Anne,  Smith's  N.J.   2ir. 

I702,  /ipril  ly .  1  he  Queen's  acceptance  of  the  furrender 
of  government  of  Eait  and  Weft  Jerfey,  Smith's  N.  j\ 
219. 

1702,  Noz'embcr  16.  Inftrudlions  to  Lord  Ccrnbury,  Smith'* 
N.  J.  230. 

1702,  December  5.  A  commiflion  from  Queen  y^fine  to  lord 
Cornbury,  to  be  captain-general  and  governor  in  chief  of 
New  Jerfey,  Smith's  N.  J.  220. 

1703,  June  27.  Recognition  by  the  council  of  proprietors 
of  the  true  boundary  of  the  deeds  o^  September  10  and  Gc^ 
lober  10,    1677  \JSew  Jerfey']  Smith's  N.  J.  56. 

1703.  Indian  deed'  for  the  lands  above  the  falls  of  the  Dela- 
ware in  Weft  Jerfey. 

Indian  deed  for  the  lands  at  the  head  of  Rankokus  river  in 
Weft  Jcrfty, 


C    192    ) 

1704,  yune  18.  A  proclamation  by  Qiieen  y^/z;?^  for  fettling 
and  afcertainins:  the  current  rates  of  foreign  coins  in  A- 
merica.  Smith's  New  Jcrfey  281. 

1705,  May  3,  Additional  inftrudions  to  Lord  Cornbury, 
Stnitl/s  Newjerfey  235. 

1707,  May '^.  Additional  infl;ni£l:ions  to  Lord  Cornbury, 
Smit!/s  Newjerfey  258. 

1707,  November  20.  Additional  inftruftions  to  Lord  Corn- 
bury, Smilh^s  New  Jerfey  259. 

1707.  An  anfwer  by  the  council  of  proprietors  for  the  wef- 
tern  divifion  of  New  Jerfey,  to  queftions  propofed  to 
■  them  by  Lord  Cornbury,  Smitf/s  New  Jerfey  285. 

170S-9,  February  28.  Inftruftions  to  colonel  Vetch  in  his 
negociations  with  the  governors  of  America.  Smith's  N. 

J.  364. 
1708-9,  Febrtmry  2S,  Inftruclions  to  the  governor  of  New 

Jerfey  and  New  York,  Smiih's  N.  J.   361. 
17 1  o,  Augfji.  Earl  of  Dartmouth's  letter  to  governor  Hun- 

ter. 
171 1,  April  ii^  Premieres   propofjtions    de   la  France.    6- 

Lamberty,  669,  2  Mem.  Am.  341. 
171 1,  Odober  8.   Reponfes  de  la  France  aux  demandes  pre- 
liminaries   de  la  Grand  Bretagne,    6  Lamberty  681.  2 

Mem.  Am.  344. 

Demandes  preliminaries    plus  particulieres 
de  la  Grande  Bretagne,  avec  les  reponfes, 
OB.ob.  8,  )    2  Mem.  de  I' Am.  346. 
171 1,  Sept.2'j — OcIobsrS.    L'acceptation  de  la   part  de  li 

Grande  Bretagne,  2  Mem.  Am.  356. 

171 1,  December  2^,  The  Queen's  inllrudions  to  the  Bifliop 
of  Briflol  and  Karl  of  Stafford,  her  plenipotentiaries,  to 
treat  of  a  general  peace,  6  Lamberty,  744.  z  Mem.  Am. 

358-  .    , 

17 1 2,  Af^j' 24 — yune  10.  A  memorial  of  Mr.  St.  John  to 
the  Marquis  deTorci,  with  regard  to  North  America,  ta 
commerce,  and  to  the  fufpenfion  of  arms,  7  Recueil  de 
Lamberty  161,   2  Mem.  de  I'Amer.  T,y6. 

J 71 2,  jufje  10.  Refponfe  du  roi  de  France  au  Memoire  de 
J.ondres,  7  Lamberty,  p.  163.  2  Mem.  Am.  380. 

17 1 2,  Aiigvll  19,  Traite  pour  une  fufpenfion  d'armes  entre 
Louis  SiV.  roi  de  France,  h  Aane,  reigne  de  la  Grande 


C     '93     ) 

Bretagnc,  fait  a  Paris.   8  Corps  Diploni.  part  i.   p.  3:^8. 
2  Msia.  d'Amer.  104. 

17 12,  Sept.  10,  Offers  of  France  to  England,  demands  of 
England,  and  the  anfwers  of  France,  7  Rcc.  de  Lamb. 
491,  2  Mem.  Am.  390. 

1713,  March  3  r,  April  1 1.  Traitc'  de  paix  &  d'amitle'  cntre 
Louis  XIV.  roi  do  France,  &  Anne,  reine  dc  la  Grande 
Bretagne,  fait  a  Utrecht,  15.  Corps  Diplomatique  de 
Damont,  339,  id.  Latin.  2  Aclcs  &  memoires  de  lapais 
d'Uirecht,  457,  id.  Lat.  Fr.  2  ]\Iem.  Am.  113. 

4713,  M.irch  31,  Jlpril  11.  Traite  de  navigation  &  de  com- 
merce entre  Louis  XIV.  roi  de  France,  &  Anne,  reine 
dela  Grande-Brctagne  Fait  a  Utrecht.  8.  Crops.  Dipl. 
part.  I.  p.  345.  2.  Mem.  de  I' Am.   137. 

1726,    A  treaty  with  the  Indians. 

1728,  yan.  The  petition  of  the  reprefentatives  of  the  pro- 
vince of  New-Jerfey,  to  have  a  diltricf  governor.  Sm.  N. 

J.  421. 
1732,  G.  2.     Deed  of  releafe  by  the  government  of  Con- 
nedlicut  to  that  of  New- York. 

1732,  yune  9-20.  5.  G.  2.  The  charter  granted  by 
George  II.  for  Georgia.  4.  Mem.  del'Am..   617. 

i']'^'\-t     Petition  of  Lord  Fairfax,  that  a  commiiTion  might 
iffas  for  running  &  marking  the  dividing  hne  between  his 
•  diilrict  and  the  province  of  Virginia. 

1733,  iViJu.  29.  Order  of  the  king  in  council  for  commif- 
fioners  to  furvey  and  fettle  the  faid  dividing  line  between 
the  proprietary  and  royal  territory. 

1736,  Auguji  5.  Report  of  the  Lords  of  trade  relating  to 
the  feparating  the  government  of  the  province  of  New- 
Jerfey  from  New-York.  Sm.  N.  j.  423. 

J737,  Aug.  10.  Survey  and  report  of  the  commiffioners 
appointed  on  the  part  of  the  crown  to  fettle  the  line  be- 
tween the  crown  and  lord  Fairfax. 

.1737,  Aug.  u.  Survey  and  report  of  the  commiffioners* 
appointed  on  the  part  of  Lord  Fairfax  to  fettle  the  line 
between  the  crown  and  him. 

1738,  Djcembsr  i\.  Order  of  reference  of  the  furveys  be- 
tween the  crown  and  Lord  Fairfa.^:  to  the  council  for 
plantation  affairs . 

G  c 


(     194     ) 

3  7445  y^(nc.     Treaty  with  the  Indians  of  the  6  nations  at 

Lancafter. 
1745,  /'pril  6.  Report  of  the  council  for  plantation  siFairs 

fixing  the  head  fprings  of  Rappahanoc  and  Patowmac,  and 

a  commiffion  to  extend  the  line. 
1745,    ^pril  II.    Order  of  the  king  in  council  confirming 

the  faid  report  of  the  council  for  phuitation  afiairs. 
1748,  u4pril  3c.     Articles  prcliminaires  pour  parvenir  a  la 

paix,   fignesa    Aixla-Chapelle    ejitre    ies    minifcres    de 

France,  de  la  Grande-Bretagne,  &  des  Provinces-Unies 

des  Pays-Bas.   2.  Mem.  I'Am.  159. 
iy4ii,  May  21.  Declaration  des   miniftres  de  France,  de  la 

Grande-Brctagne,  k   des  Provinces-Unies  des  Pays-Bas, 

pour  redifier  Ies  articles  I.  &   II.    des  preliminaires.  2. 

Mem.   Am.    165. 
1748,  Ocl.  7-18.   22.  G.  2.     The  general  and  definitive 

treaty  of  peace  concluded  at  Aixia  Chapelle.  Lon.  Mag. 

1748.  503.  French.   2.  Mem.  Am   169. 
1754.  A  treaty  with  the  Indians. 
1758,  Augujl'].  A  conference  between  Governor  Bernard 

and  Indian  nations  at  Burlington.     Sm.  N.  J.  449. 

1758,  Oclohcr  %.  A  conference  between  Governor  Denny, 
Governor  Bernard  and  others,  and  Indian  nations  at 
Eaflon.  Sm.  N.  j.  455. 

1759,  yw/y  25.   'i^'^^,  G.   2.  The  capitulation  of  Niagara. 
175 —  The  king's  proclamation  promifing  lands  to  ioldiers. 
ij6'7^^  February  10.  'T^.  G. -^^  The  definitive  treaty  concluded 

at  Paris.  Lo.   Mag.    1763.    149. 
iy6^^^  October  y.  G.  3.  A  proclamation  for   regulating  the 

ceflions  made  by  the  laft  treaty  of  peace.   Guth.   Ceorg. 

Gram.  623. 
1763.  The  king's  proclamation  againfl  fettling  on  any  lands 

on  the  waters  weflward  of  the  Alleghaney. 
1768,  NovemJer    3.  Deed  from  the  fix  nations  of  Indians 

to  William  Trent  and  others  for  lands  betwixt  the  Ohio 

and    Monongahela.    View  of  the  title  to  Indiana.  Phil. 

Steiner  and  Gift.    1776. 
J768,  November  5.  Deed  from   the  fix  nations   of  Indians 

to  the  crown  for  certain  lands  and  fettling  a  boundary. 

M.  S. 

APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX, 

Xc.   I. 

1  HE  preceding  fheets  having  been  fubmitted  to  my 
friend  Mr.  Charles  Thomfon,  Secretary  of  Congrefs, 
he  has  furnilh  ed  me  with  the  following  obfervations, 
which  have  too  much  merit  not  to  he  communicated. 

(i.)  p.  21.  Befides  the  three  channels  of  communica- 
tion mentioned  between  the  wtftern  waters  and  the  At- 
lantic, there  are  two  others,  to  which  the  Pennfylvani- 
ans  are  turning  their  attention  ;  one  from  Prefqu-ifle,  on 
Lake  Erie,  to  Le  Boeuf,  down  the  /\lleghaney  to  Kifki- 
miniras,  then  up  the  Kifkiminitas,  and  from  thence,  by 
a  fmall  portage,  to  Juniata,  which  falls  into  the  Sufque- 
hanna  :  the  other  from  Lake  Ontario  to  the  Eaft  Branch 
of  the  Delaware,  and  down  that  to  Philadelphia.  Both 
thefe  are  faid  to  be  very  pradicable  :  &  confidering  the  en- 
terprifing  temper  of  the  Pennfylvanians,  and  particularly 
of  the  merchants  of  Philadelphia,  whofe  objeft  is  con- 
centered in  promoting  the  commerce  and  trade  of  one 
city,  it  is  not  improbable  but  one  or  both  of  thefe  com- 
munications will  be  opened  and  improved. 

(i.)  p.  24.  The  refieQions  I  was  led  into  on  viewing 
this  paflage  of  the  Potowmac  through  the  Blue  ridge 
were,  that  this  country  mufl:  have  fufrered  fome  violent 
convulfion,  and  that  the  face  of  it  mufl:  have  been  chang- 
ed from  what  it  probably  was  fome  centuries  ago  j  that 
the  broken  and  ragged  faces  of  the  mountain  on  each 
fide  the  river  ;  the  tremendous  rocks,  which  are  left  with 
one  end  fixed  in  the  precipice,  and  the  other  jutting  out, 
and  feemingly  ready  to  fall  for  want  of  fupport ;  the  bed 
of  the  river  for  feveral  miles  below  obflruded,  and  filled 

A 


<       2      ) 

wi'h  +be  'ro^e  f^ones  carried  from  this  mound  ;  in  fliort, 
every  thing  on  which  you  Cill  your  eye  evidently  demonf* 
tratesadifriipture&breachinthemountain,  &  that,  before 
this  happene*^',  what  is  now  a  fruirful  va'e,  was  former- 
ly a  o;iear  lake  cr  coDeftion  ot  water,  whi  h  poffibly 
might  hcive  htre  formed  a  m'ghty  cafcade,  or  had  its  vent 
to  be  ocean  by  the  Sufquehanna,  where  the  Blue  ridge 
feewis  to  terminal e.  Befides  this,  there  are  other  parts 
of  rh's  country  which  bear  evidbnt  traces  of  a  like  con- 
vulfion.  From  the  bed  accounts  I  have  been  able  to 
obtain,  the  place  where  the  Delaware  now  flow^s  through 
the  Kittarinny  mountain,  which  is  a  continuation  of 
what  IS  called  the  North  ridge,  or  mountain^  was  not 
its  original  courfe,  but  that  it  paffed  through  what  is 
now  called  *  the  \^  ind-gap/  a  place  feveral  miles  to  the 
we'lw:ird.  and  above  an  hundred  feet  higher  than  the 
prefent  bed  of  the  river.  This  Wind-gap  is  about  a  mile 
brond.  and  the  flones  in  it  fuch  as  feem  to  have  been 
vafhed  for  ages  by  water  rnnning  over  them.  Should 
this  hiivebeen  the  cafe  there  muii  have  been  a  large  lake 
behnd  that  mountain,  and  by  fome  uncommon  fwell  in 
the  wafers,  or  by  fome  convulfion  of  nature  the  liver 
mud  have  opened  i's  way  through  a  different  part  of 
the  rnoui  ta  n,  and  meeting  there  with  lefs  obflrudion, 
ca  ried  awav  with  it  the  oppofmg^  mounds  of  ear'^h,  and 
deluged  the  countrv  below  with  the  immenle  collection 
of  water.t  to  which  tl  is  new  paflage  gave  vent.  There 
are  ftill  r«maihing.  and  dai.y  difcovered.  innumerable 
indances  of  fuch  a  deluge  on  both  fides  of  the  river, 
af  er  it  oaffed  the  hills  above  the  falls  of  Trenton,  and 
ttai  bed  the  champaign.  On  the  New-Jer  ev  fide,  .wh-ch 
is  fi-Kter  than  the  Pennfvlvania  fide,  ail  the  countrv 
below  Crofw  ck  hills  fetnis  to  have  been  overflowed  to 
the  diftance  of  from  ten  to  fifteen  miles  back  fro?n  the 
^i^•er,  an(i  to  have  acquired  a  new  foil  by  the  earth  and 
clay  broufht  down  and  mixed  with  the  native  fand.  ']  he 
fpot  on  which  Philade'phii  ftands  evidently  appears  to 
be  made  gromd.  'J  he  different  ftrata  through  which 
thev  pafs  in  digging  to  water,  the  acorns,  leaves,  and 
fometimes  brnnches,  wiiich  are  found  above  tweiitv  feet 
beipw  the  furlace,  all  fcem  to  dem.ondrate  this.  I  am 
informed  that  at  iforktowa  in  Virginia,  in  the  bank  of 


(     3     ) 

Vnrk  r'ver,  there  are  di'lTerent  Hrafa  of  fi  el's  nnd  earth, 
•  ne  above  anoth-r,  v-hich  feem  to  point  out  that  t'e 
country  there  has  undergone  fevcral  changres  ;  that  the 
fea  has,  ft,r  a  fuccelnon  of  aj^es,  occupied  the  place 
where  dry  land  now  appears;  and  that  the  pround  has 
1  een  fudder.lv  riiifed  at  various  periods.  What  a  change 
would  it  make  in  the  country  below,  fhoukl  the  moun- 
tains at  Niairara,  by  any  accident,  he  cleft  afunder,  and 
a  paflaiie  fuddenly  opened  to  dmin  ofi'  the  waters  of  Ktie 
and  the  Upper  lakes!  While  ruminating  on  thtfe  fub- 
jecl:s,  1  have  often  been  hurried  away  by  fancy,  and  led 
to  itnagine,  that  what  is  now  thi^  bay  of  Mexico,  was 
once  a  champaign  country  ;  and  that  from  the  p'  int  or 
cape  of  Florida,  there  was  a  continued  ranpc  of  moun- 
t;>.in<  through  Cuba,  Hifpaniola,  Poitorico,  Martinique, 
C'Uadaloune,  Barhadoes,  and  Trinidad,  till  it  reached 
the  coafl  of  /imerica,  and  for?Tied  the  fliores  which 
bounded  the  ocean,  and  guarded  the  cowntry  behind  ; 
that,  by  fome  convuli'on  or  iliock  of  nature,  the  fea  had 
broken  through  thefe  mounds,  and  deluged  that  vaft 
pluin,  till  it  reached  the  foot  of  the  Andes;  that  being 
there  heaped  up  by  tiie  trade- winds,  alwf^ys  blov\ing  from 
one  quarter,  it  had  found  its  way  back,  as  it  continues 
to  (\o^  through  the  gulph  between  Florida  and  Cuba, 
carrying  with  it  the  loom  and  fand  it  n  ay  have  fcooped 
from  the  country  it  had  occupied,  part  of  which  it  may 
have  depoHted  on  the  (hores  of  North-America,  and  with 
part  toriuedtlie  banks  of  Newfoundland. — But  thefe  are 
only  the  vifions  of  fancy. 

(3.).  p*  49.  There  is  a  plant,  or  weed,  called  1^^'^' 
James-town  weed*,  of  a  very  fingular  quality.  Ihe 
late  Dr.  Bond  informed  me,  that  he  had  under  his  care 
a  patient,  a  young  girl,  who  had  put  the  feeds  of  this 
jdant  into  her  eve,  which  dilated  the  pupil  to  ibch  a  de- 
gree, that  fhe  could  fee  in  the  dark,  but  in  the  hght  was 
almofl  blind.  The  effefl  that  the  leaves  had  vi'heii  eaten 
bv  a  fhip's  crew  that  arrived  at  James-town,  are  well 
knownf. 


*  Diitura  p^ricnrplis  er<'L\i3  ovatis.      I/iiii. 

t  An  inQanre  of  temporary  iiiibeciiicy  produceJ  '^y  'hem  Is  mention- 
ed, 5everl,  H.   of  Virg.   b,   2,  c.  4. 


(    4    ) 

("4-.^  p.  9y  Monf.  Buffon  has  indeed  jojiven  an  affll'^- 
in^  piflure  of  human  nature  in  his  defcription  of  the 
man  of  America.  But  fure  I  am  there  never  was  a  picture 
more  unlike  the  original.  He  grants  indeed  that  his 
flature  is  the  fame  as  that  of  the  man  of  Europe.  He 
miqfht  have  admitted,  that  the  Iroquois  were  larger,  and 
the  Lenopi,  or  Delavi?ares,  taller  than  people  in  Europe 
generally  are.  But  he  fays  their  organs  of  generation 
are  fmaller  and  weaker  than  thofe  of  Europeans.  Is 
this  a  fa5t  ?  I  believe  not ;  at  leaft  it  is  an  obfervation 
I  never  heard  before.  '  They  have  no  beard.*  Had  he 
known  the  pains  and  trouble  it  cods  the  men  to  pluck  out 
by  the  roots  the  hair  that  grows  on  their  faces,  he  would 
have  feen  that  nature  had  not  been  deficient  in  that  ref- 
pe^.  Every  nation  has  its  cuftoms,  I  have  feen  an 
Indian  beau,  with  a  looking-glafs  in  his  hand,  examining 
his  face  for  hours  together,  and  plucking  out  by  the 
roots  every  hair  he  could  difcover,  with  a  kind  of  twee- 
zer made  of  a  piece  of  fine  brafs  wire,  that  had  been 
twiftcd  round  a  flick,  and  which  he  ufed  with  great  dex- 
terity.— '  They  have  no  ardour  for  their  females.*  It  is 
true,  they  do  not  indulge  thofe  excelTes,  nor  difcover 
that  fondnefs  which  is  cuflomarv  in  Europe  ;  but  this  is 
not  owing  to  a  defect  in  nature  but  to  manners.  Their 
foul  is  wholly  bent  upon  war.  This  is  what  procures 
them  glory  among  the  men,  and  makes  them  the  admi- 
ration of  the  women.  To  this  they  are  educated  from 
their  earlieft  youth.  When  they  purfue  game  with  ar-. 
dour,  when  they  bear  the  fatigues  of  the  chafe,  when 
they  fuflain  and  fuffer  patiently  hunger  and  cold  j  it  is 
not  fo  much  for  the  fake  of  the  game  they  purfue,  as  to 
convince  their  parents  and  the  council  of  the  nation  that 
they  are  fit  to  be  enrolled  in  the  number  of  the  warriors. 
The  fongs  of  the  women,  the  dance  of  the  warriors,  the 
fage  council  of  the  chiefs,  the  tales  of  the  old,  the 
triumphal  entry  of  the  warriors  returning  with  fuccefs 
from  battle,  and  the  refpe£t  paid  to  thofe  who  diftinguiCh 
themfelves  in  war  and  in  fubduing  their  enemies  ;  in 
fhort,  every  thing  they  fee  or  hear  tends  to  infpire  them 
with  an  ardent  defire  for  military  fame.  If  a  young  man 
were  to  difcover  a  fondnefs  for  women  before  he  has 
been  at  war,  he  would  become  the  contempt  of  the  sien, 


(    5    ) 

and  the  fcorn  nnd  ridicule  of  the  women.  Or  were  he 
to  indiilcje  himfelf  with  a  captive  taken  in  war,  and  much 
more  were  he  to  oiler  violence  in  order  to  gratify  his  lufl, 
he  would  incur  indelible  difgrace.  The  feeming  frigidi- 
ty of  the  men,  therefore,  is  the  effect  of  manners,  and 
nnt  a  dcfed  of  nature.  Befides,  a  celebrated  warrio'-  is 
o'''"encr  courted  ()y  the  females,  than  he  has  occanon  to 
court:  and  this  is  a  point  of  honor  which  the  men  aim 
at.  Inftances  fimilar  to  that  of  Ruth  and  Boaz*  are  not 
uncommon  amonej  them.  For  though  the  women  are 
modeft  and  di3i  lent,  and  fo  bafhful  that  they  felJom  lift 
up  their  eyes,  and  fcarce  ever  look  a  man  full  in  the 
face,  yet,  being  brought  up  in  great  fubjetflion,  culiom 
and  manners  reconcile  them  to  modes  of  adling,  which, 
judged  of  by  Eur  )peans,  would  be  deemed  inconfiftent 
with  trie  rules  of  fema  e  decorum  and  propriety,  I  once 
faw  a  young  widow,  whofe  bufband,  a  warrior,  had 
died  about  eight  days  before,  haftening  to  finifh  her 
grief,  and  who  by  tearing  her  hair,  beating  her  breaft, 
and  drinking  fpirits,  made  the  tears  flow  in  great  abun- 
dance, in  order  that  (lie  might  grieve  much  in  a  (hort 
fpace  of  time,  and  he  married  that  evening  to  another 
young  warrior.  The  manner  in  which  this  was  viewed 
by  the  men  and  women  of  the  tribe,  who  flood  round, 
filent  and  folemn  fpectators  of  the  fcene,  and  the  indif- 
ference with  which  they  anfwered  my  queftion  refpecl:- 
ing  it,  convinced  me  that  it  was  no  unufual  cuftom.  I 
have  known  men  advanced  in  years,  whofe  wives  were 
old  and  pad  child-bearing,  take  young  wives,  and  have 
children,  though  the  f  rad:ice  of  polygamy  is  not  com- 
mon. Does  this  favor  of  frigidity,  or  want  of  ardour 
for  the  female  ?  Neither  do  they  feem  to  be  deficient  in 
natural  afFeclion.  I  havefeen  both  fathers  and  mothers 
in  the  deepeft  affli6lion,  when  their  children  have  been 
dangeroufly  ill ;  though  1  believe  the  affedlion  is  Wronger 
in  the  defcending  than  the  afcending  fcale,  and  though 
cuftom  forbids  a  father  to  grieve  immoderately  for  a  fon 
flainin  battle. — *  That  they  are  timorous  and  cowardly,' 

*  When'  Boaz  had  eaten  and  drank,  and  his  heart  w^s  n^erry,  he 
went  to  lie  down  at  the  end  of  the  heap  of  corn  :  and  Ruth  came  foftlj, 
ind  uacovercd  luB  feet,   and  laid  her  down.     Ruth  iii.   7. 


(    6    ) 

h  a  charndler  with  which  there  is  little  rea''on  to  charge 
them,  when  we  recoiled  the  manner  in  which  the  Iro- 
q«f;is  met  Monf.  ,  who  marched  into  their  coun- 
try ;  in  which  the  old  men,  who  fcorned  to  fly,  or  ro 
furvive  the  capture  of  their  town,  braved  death,  like 
the  old  Romans  in  the  time  of  the  Gauls,  and  in  which 
they  foon  after  revenged  themfelves  by  fackim^  and  def- 
troying  Montreal.  But  above  all,  the  unll^aken  forti- 
tude with  which  they  bear  the  mofl  excruciating  tortures 
znd  death  when  taken  priloners,  ought  to  exempt  them 
from  that  character.  Much  lefs  are  they  to  be  charac- 
ferifed  as  a  people  of  no  vivacity,  and  v/ho  are  excited 
to  a6lion  or  motion  only  by  the  calls  of  hunger  and  thirfV, 
Their  dances  in  which  they  fo  much  delight,  and  which 
to  an  European  would  be  the  mofl:  fevere  exerci'e,  fully 
contradid  this,  not  to  mention  their  fatiguing  marches, 
and  the  toil  thev  voluntarily  and  cheerfully  undertjo  in 
their  military  expeditions.  It  is  true,  that  when  at  home, 
ihev  do  not  employ  themfe'ves  in  labor  or  the  culture  of 
the  foil  :  bur  this  aj.  ain  is  '^he  effe(fl  ot  cuftoms  and  man- 
ners, which  have  alTigned  that  to  the  province  of  the 
women.  But  it  is  laid,  they  are  averfe  to  fociety  and  a 
fecial  life.  Can  any  thing  be  more  inapplicable  thart 
this  to  a  people  who  always  live  in  towns  or  clans  ?  Or 
can  they  be  faid  to  have  no  '  republic,*  who  condud  all 
their  affairs  in  rational  courcils,  who  pride  them- 
felves in  their  national  charader,  who  confider  an  infult 
or  injury  done  to  an  individual  by  a  (Iranger  as  done  to 
the  whole,  and  refent  it  accordingly  ?  In  fliort  this  pic- 
ture is  not  applicable  to  any  nation  of  Indians  1  have  ever 
known  or  heard  of  in  North- America. 

(5')  P-  '3?'  As  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  the 
country  from  the  fea  coafl:  to  the  Alleghany,  and  from 
the  moft  fouthern  waters  of  James*  river  up  to  Patuxen 
fiver,  now  in  the  (late  of  Maryland,  was  occupied  by 
three  different  nations  of  Indians,  each  of  which 
fpoke  a  difl'erent  language,  and  were  under  feparate  and 
didind  governments.  What  the  original  or  real  names 
of  thefe  nations  were,  I  have  not  been  able  to  learn  with 
cmainty :  but  by  us  they  are  diflineuifhed  by  the  names 
cf  Powhatans,  Mannahoacs,  and  IVIonacans,  now  com- 
l3T^nly  called  Tufcaroras  The  Powhatans,  who  occupi- 
ed the  couniryirom  tiie  f^a  fhore  up  to  the  fails  of  the 


(    7    ) 

rivers,  were  a  povverfnl  nation,  an  I  Teem  fo  have  rrtn- 
fifted  of  even  tribes,  five  on  the  v.eilern  and  tw )  on 
tne  ealern  fliore.  Each  of  ihefe  tribes  was  fuhdivided 
into  towns,  families,  or  cUns,  who  lived  tocrcther.  All 
the  nations  of  Indi.ins  in  Morth- America  lived  in  the 
hunter  flate  and  depended  for  fubfi^ence  on  hunting", 
fnhin^,  and  the  fp  >ntaneous  fruits  of  the  earth,  nnd  a 
kind  of  prain  which  was  planted  and  gathered  by  the 
women,  and  is  now  known  by  the  name  of  Indian  coin, 
I,n>icT  potatoes,  pumpkins  of  various  kinds,  and  Iqua'lies, 
yere  alfo  found  in  ufe  amon;T  them.  They  had  no  flock-^ 
herds,  or  tamed  animals  of  any  kind.  Their  govern- 
ment is  a  kind  of  patriarchal  confederacy.  Every  to-vn 
or  family  has  a  chief,  who  is  diftinguilhed  by  a  parricu- 
lar  tirle,  and  whom  we  commonly  call  '  Sachem.'  The 
feveral  towns  or  families  that  compofe  a  tribe,  have  a 
chief  who  prefides  over  it,  and  the  feveral  tribes  compof- 
ing  a  nation  have  a  chief  who  prefides  over  the  whole 
narion.  Thefe  chiefs  ire  generally  men  au'vanccd  in 
years,  and  diflinguilhed  by  their  prudence  and  abilities 
in  council,  1  he  matters  which  merely  regard  a  town  or 
family  are  fettled  by  the  chief  and  principal  men  of  the 
town  ;  thofe  which  regard  a  tribe,  fuch  as  the  appoint- 
ment of  head  warriors  or  captaifts,  and  fettling  diiferen- 
ces  between  different  towns  and  families,  are  regulated  at 
a  meeting  or  council  of  rhe  chiefs  from  the  fevcr.d  towns  ; 
and  thofe  which  regard  the  whole  nation,  fuch  as  the 
making  war,  concluding  peace,  or  forming  alliances  with 
the  neighboring  nations,  are  deliberated  on  and  deter- 
mined in  a  national  council  compofed  of  the  chiefs  of 
the  tribe,  attended  by  the  head  warriors  and  a  number  of 
the  chiefs  from  the  towns,  who  are  his  counfellors.  In 
every  town  there  is  a  council  houfe,  where  the  chief  and 
old  men  of  the  town  affemble,  when  occafion  require?, 
and  confult  what  is  proper  to  be  done.  P'.very  trit)e  has 
a  fixed  place  for  the  chiefs  of  the  towns  to  meet  and  confult 
on  the  buTnefs  of  the  tribe:  aid  in  every  narion  there 
is  what  they  call  the  central  council  houfe,  or  central 
council  fire,  where  the  chiefs  of  the  feveral  tribes,  with 
the  principal  warriors,  convene  to  confult  and  determine 
on  their  national  affairs.  When  any  matter  is  propofed 
in  the  national  council,  it  is  common  for  the  chiefs  of 
the  feveral  tribes  to  confult  thereon  apart  with  their  coun- 


(    8    ) 

fellors,  and  whrti  they  have  agreed,  to  deliver  the  opi- 
nion of  the  tribe  at  the  national  council:  and,  as  their 
government  feems  to  reft  wholly  on  perfuafion,  they  en- 
deavor, by  mutual  corsceffions,  to  obtain  unanimity. — 
Such  is  the  government  that  ftillful'fi'ls  among  the  Indian 
nations  bordeiing  upon  the  United  States.  Some  hiuo- 
riansfeem  to  think,  that  the  dignity  of  office  of  Sachem 
was  hereditary.  But  that  opinion  does  not  appear  to-be 
well  founded.  The  lachera  or  chief  of  the  tribe  feems 
to  be  by  ele^^ion.  i^nd  fometimes  perf  ns  who  are 
ftrangers,  and  adopted  into  the  tribe,  are  promoted  to 
this  dignity,  on  account  of  their  abilities.  Thus  on  the 
arrival  of  captain  Smith,  the  firft  founder  of  the  colony 
of  Virginia,  Opechancanough,  who  was  Sachem  or  chief 
of  the  Chickahominies,  one  of  the  tribes  of  the  Pow- 
hatans,  isfaid  to  have  been  of  another  tribe,  and  even  of 
another  nation,  fo  that  no  certain  account  could  be  ob- 
tained of  his  origin  or  defcent.  The  chiefs  of  the  na- 
tion feem  to  have  been  by  a  rotation  among  the  tribes. — 
Thus  when  captain  Smith,  in  the  year  1609,  queftioned 
Powhatan  (who  was  the  chief  of  the  nation,  and  whofe 
proper  name  is  faid  to  have  been  Wahunfonacock)  ref- 
peftingthe  fucceffion,  the  old  chief  informed  him,  '  that 

*  he  was  very  old  and  had  feen  the  death  of  all  his  people 

*  thricet ;  that  not  one  of  thefe  generations  were  then 

*  living  except  himfelf ;  that  he  muft  foon  die  and  the 
'  fucceffion  defcend  in  order  to  his  brothers  Opichapan, 
'  Opechancanough,  and  Catataugh,  and  then  to  his  two 

*  fifters,  and  their  two  daughters.*  But  thefe  were  ap- 
pellations defignating  the  tribes  in  the  confederacy.  For 
the  perfons  named  are  not  his  real  brothers,  but  the  chief* 
of  different  tribes.     Accordingly  in  161 8,  whenPowha- 

t  This  is  one  generation  more  than  the  poet  afcribes^  to  the    life  of 
NcAor. 

To  d'  ede  mengeneai  meropon  nnthropcn 
Ephthiatb  oi  oi  proflben  ama  traphen  ed'  egneanto 
En  Pub  egatbee,  meta  de  iritatoifm  aiiassen. 

I  HoM.    II.  250* 
Two  generations  now  had  part  away, 
Wife  by  his  rules,   and  happy  by  his  fway  ; 
Two  ages  o'er  his  native  realm  he  rcign'd. 
And  now  th»  example  of  tht-  ihird  remaiti'd. 

PoPF. 


(    9    ) 

tan  died,  he  was  fucceeded  bv  Opiclrdp:in,  and  after  his 

deceafe  Opcchancanough  became  chief  of  the  nation 

I  need  only  mention  another  inftance  to  fhew  that  tlic 
chiefs  of  the  tribes  claimed  their  kindred  with  the  head 
of  the  nation.  In  1622,  when  Raleigh  CraHiaw  was 
with  Japazaw,  the  Sachem  or  chief  of  the  Patownvaes, 
Opechancanough,  who  had  great  power  and  influence, 
being  the  fecond  man  in  the  nation,  and  next  in  fuccefTion 
to  Opichapan,  and  who  was  a  bitter  but  fecret  enemy  to 
the  Englilh,  and  wanted  to  engage  his  nation  in  a  war 
with  them,  fent  two  bafkets  of  beads  to  the  Patowmac 
chief,  and  defired  him  to  kill  the  Englifliman  that  was 
with  him.  Japazaw  replied,  that  the  Englifh  were  his 
friends,  and  Opichapan  his  brother,  and  that  therefore 
there  fhould  be  no  blood  (hed  between  them  by  his  means. 
It  is  alio  to  be  obferved,  that  when  the  EngUlh  firft  came 
over,  in  all  their  conferences  with  any  of  the  chiefs,  they 
conftantly  heard  him  make  mention  of  his  brother,  with 
whom  he  mud  confult,  or  to  whom  he  referred  them, 
meaning  thereby  either  the  chief  of  the  nation,  or  the 
tribes  in  confederacy.  I'he  Manahoacks  are  faid  to  have 
been  a  confederacy  of  four  tribes,  and  in  alliance  with 
the  Monacans,  in  the  war  which  they  were  carrying  011 
againft  the  Powhatans. 

To  the  northward  of  thefe  there  was  another  powerful 
nation,  which  occupied  the  country  from  the  head  of  the 
Chefapeak-bay  up  to  the  Kittatinney  mountain,  and  as 
far  eallward  as  Connecticut  river,  comprehending  that: 
part  of  New- York  which  lies  between  the  highlands  and. 
the  ocean,  all  the  flate  of  New-Jerfey,  that  part  of  Penn- 
lylvania  which  is  wat;;red,  below  the  range  of  the  Kitta- 
tinney mountains,  by  the  rivers  or  flreams  falling  into 
the  Delaware,  and  the  county  of  Ncwcaftle  in  the  flats 
of  Delaware,  as  far  as  Duck  creek.  It  is  to  be  obferv- 
ed, that  the  nations  of  Indians  diflinguilhed  their  coun- 
tries  one  from  another  by  natural  boundaries,  fu:h  as 
ranges  of  mountains  or  ilrearhs  of  water,  ^iut  as  the 
heads  of  rivers  frequently  interlock,  or  approach  near  to 
each  other,  as  thofe  who  live  upon  a  flream  claim  the 
country  watered  by  it,  they  often  encroached  on  each 
other,  and  this  is  a  conflant  fource  of  war  k— v<«-q  the 

li 


(     10     ) 

c]  fferent  nations.     The  nation    occupying  the   traO:  of 
country  lad  defcrlbed,  called  themfelves   Lenopi.     The 
French  w liters  call  them  Loups  ;  and  among  the  Englifli 
they  are  now  commonly  called  Delawares.     This  nation 
or  confederacy  confifted  of  five  tiibes,  who  all  fpo^eone 
language,      i.  The    Chiaohocki,  who  dwelt  on  the  well 
fide  of,  the  river  now  called  Delaware,  a  name  which  it 
took  from  Lord  De  la  War,  who  put  into  it  oa  his  paf- 
fage  from  Virginia  in  the  year     ,  but  which  by  the  Indians 
was  called  Chihohocki.     2.   1  he  Wanami,  who  inhabir- 
ed   the  country   called  New-Jtrfcy,  from  the  Raviton  to 
the  fea.     3.  The    Munfey,    who   dwelt    on    the  upper 
ilreams  of  the  Delaware,  from  the  Kittatinney  mountains 
down  to  the  Lehigh  or  weilern  branch  of  the  Delaware. 
4.  The  Wabinga,  who  are  fometimes  called  River  Indians, 
Ibmeiimes    Mohickanders,  and  who  had  their   dwelling 
between  the  weft  branch'of  Delawaie  and  Hudibn's  river, 
ironi  the  Kittatinney  lidge  down  to  the  Rariton  :  and  5. 
The  Mahiccon,  or  Mahattan,  who  occupied  Staten  iiland, 
York  iiland,  (which  from  its  being  the  principal  feat   of 
their  refidcnce  was  formerly  called  Mahatton)  Long  ifland 
and  that  rart  of  New  York  and  Connedlicuc   which  lies 
between  Hudfon  and  Connecticut  rivers,  from  the  high-; 
land,  which   is  a  continuation  of  the  Ivittaunnev  ridge 
down  to  the  Sound.     This  n  ition  had  a  clofe  alliance  with 
the  Shav/anefe,  who  lived  on  the  Sufquehanna  and  to  the 
weftward  of  that  river,  as  far  as  the  Alleghaney  moun- 
tains, and  carried  on  a   long  war  with  another  powerful 
nati  n  or    confederacy  of  Indians,  which   lived  to    the 
north  of  them   bet\\een  the   Kittatinney    mountains,   or 
highlands,  and  the  lake  Ontario,  and  who  call  themfelves 
Miiigos,  and  are  called  by  the  French  writers  Iroquois, 
by  the  Fnglifh  the  Five  Nations,  and  by  the  Indians   to 
the  fouthward,  w:th  whom  ihey  were   at  war,  Maffawo- 
macs.     This  war  was  carrying  on,  in   its   greateft  fury, 
when  captain  Smith  (irft  ariived  in  Virginia.     The  Mingo 
warriors  had  penetiated   down  the   Sufquehanna   to  the 
mouth  of  it.     In  one  of  his  excurfions  up  the  bay,  at 
the  mouth  of  Sufquehanna.   in  160^,   captain  Smith  met 
with  fix  or  feven  of  their  canoes  full  of  warriors,  who 
were  C(.mino;  to  attack  their  enemies  in  the  rear.     In  an 
excurfion  which  he  had  made  a  few  weeks  before,  up  the 


I 


C   i>    ) 

Rappahanock,  and  in  which  he  had  a  llNlrmilh  'a  iih  a  par- 
ty of  the  Manihoacs,  and  taken  a  brother  of"  one  of  their 
chiefs  priloner,  he  fird  heard  of  this  nation.  For  uheh 
he  aflced  the  pri  oner,  why  his  nation  at  acked  the  Eng- 
iifh  ?  the  prifoncr  .aid,  becau'b  his  nation  hid  hea'd  that 
the  EngliHi  came  from  under  the  ^;'or!d  to  take  thei  world 
from  them.  Being  aflccd,  how  many  worlds  he  kneA' ? 
he  fii  !,  he  knev/  but  one,  "which  was  under  the  (Ivy  tha: 
covered  him,  and  whi.h  confided  of  the  Powhatans,  the 
Maiiakin%  and  the  MalTawomacs.  Being  queitiuned 
concerning  the  latter,  he  faid,  they  dwelt  on  a  great  wa- 
ter to  the  NiTth,  that  they  had  many  boats,  and  fo  manv 
men  that  they  waged  with  all  the  rcfl:  of  the  world. — 
'1  he  Mingo  confederacy  then  conflled  of  five  tribes'; 
thiee  who  are  the  elder,  to  wit,  theSenecas,  who  live  to 
the  Weft,  the  Mohawks  to  the  Eaft,  and  the  Onondagas 
between  them  ;  and  two  who  are  called  the  younger  tribes, 
namely,  the  Cayugas  and  Oneidas .  All  the^e  tribes 
fpeak  one  language,  and  were  then  united  in  a  clofe  con- 
federacy, and  occupied  the  trad  of  country  from  the 
«aft  end  of  lake  Erie  to  lalie  Charaulain,  and  from  the 
Kittatinney  and  Highlands  to  the  lake  Ontario  and  the 
river  CadaraquI,  or  St.  Laurence.  They  had,  fometimc 
"before  that,  canied  on  a  tvar  with  a  nation,  who  lived 
•beyond  the  lakes,  and  w-ere  called  Adircndacs.  In  this 
war  they  were  Worded  :  but  having  made  a  peace  with 
them,  through  the  interccffion  of  theFrer.ch,  who  w. re 
ihea  fettling  Canada,  they  turned  their  arms  a.ciainft  the 
Lenopi  ;  and  as  this  war  was  long  and  doubtful,  th.-y, 
'in  the  cburfe  cf  it,  not  only  exerted  their  whole  force, 
"but  put  in  practice  every  mealure  which  prudence  or  poli- 
cy could  devife  tobiing  it  to  a  fuccefiful  iflue*  For  this 
•purpcfethey  bent  their  courfe  down  the  Sufqu.hanna,  . 
warring  with  the  Indians  In  their  way,  and  having  pene- 
trated as  far  as  the  mouth  of  it,  they,  by  the  terror  of- 
their  arms,  engaged  anation>  now  known  by  the  name 
•of  Nanticocks,  Conoys,  and  Tutcloes,  and  who  lived 
"between  Chefapeak  and  Delaware  bays,  and  bordering 
on  the  tribe  of  Chihohocki,  to  enter  into  an  alliance  with 
them.  They  alio  formed  an  alliance  with  the  Monakans, 
and  ftimuiated  them  to  a  war  with  the  Lenopi  and  iheh* 
confedcrateG.     At  the  fame  time  the  Mohawks  carried  on 


C      IZ     ) 

a  furious  war  down  the  Hudfon  againfl:  the  Mohiccons  and 
Rii^er  Indians,  and  compelled  them  to  purchafe  a  tempo- 
rary and  precarious  peace,  by  acknowledging  them  to  be 
their  faperiois,  and  paying  an  annual  tribute.  The  1^- 
ncpi  being  fuirounded  with  enemies,  and  hard  prefled, 
an«i  having  loft  many  of  their  warriors,  were  at  laft  com- 
pelled to  fue  for  peace,  which  was  granted  to  them  on 
the  condiri  n  that  thev  fhould  put  themleives  under  the 
protclion  of  the  Mingoes,  confine  themfelves  to  raifmg 
c  rn,  hunting  for  the  fubfiftence  of  their  fami  ies,  and 
no  longer  have  the  power  of  making  war.  This  is  what 
the  Indians  call  making  them  women.  And  in  this  con- 
dition the  Lenopis  were  when  Wi.l  am  Penn  firft  arrived 
and  begin  the  fettiem  nt  of  Pennfylvania  in  1682^ 

(6.)  p  148.  F:om  the  figurative  language  of  the  In- 
dians, as  well  as  from  the  practice  of  thofe  we  are  ftill 
acquainted  with,  it  is  evident  that  it  was,  and  flill  conti- 
nues to  be,  a  conftant  cuflom  among  the  Indians  to 
gather  up  the  bones  of  the  dead,  and  depofit  them  in  a 
particular  place.  Thus,  when  they  make  peace  with  any 
nation,  with  whom  they  have  been  at  war,  after  burying 
the  hatchet,  they  take  up  the  belt  of  wampum,  and  fay, 

*  We  now  -gather  up  all  the  bones  of  thofe  who  have 

*  been  flain.  and  bury  them,  he'  See  all  the  treaties 
of  peace.  Befides,  it  is  cuftomary  when  any  of  them 
die  at  a  diftance  from  home,  to  bury  them,  and  after- 
wards to  come  and  take  up  the  bones  and  carry  them  home. 
At  a  treaty  which  was  held  ar  Lancafter  with  the  fix  na-. 
tions,  one  of  them  died,  and  was  buried  in  the  woods  a 
little  diftance  from  the  town.  Some  time  after  a  party 
came  and  took  up  the  body,  feparated  the  flelh  from  the 
bones  by  boiling  and  fcraping  them  clean,  and  carried 
them  to  be  depofited  in  the  fepulchres  of  their  anceftors. 
Tiie  operation  was  fo  oiFenfive  and  difagreeable,  ihat  no- 
body could  come  near  them  while  they  were  performing 
it. 

^/O  P*  '^5^*  '^he  Ofwegatchies,  Connofedagos  and 
Cohunnegagoes,  or,  as  they  are  commonly  called,  Cagh- 
newagos,  are  of  the  Mingo  or  Six-nation  Indians,  who, 
by  the  influence  of  the  French  miffionarles,  have 
been  feparated  from  their  nation,  and  induced  to  fettle 
♦he^e. 


C     ^3     ). 

I  ^]c^  nor  know  of  what  nation  the  Au^^quagahs  arc ; 
bvit  fiifpcfl  they  are  a  family  of  the  Senecas. 

The  Nanticocks  anu  Conoiesvvere  formerly  of  a  nation 
that  lived  at  the  head  of  Chefapeak  hay,  and  who,  of 
late  years,  have  been  adopted  into  the  Mingo  or  Iroquois 
confederacy,  and  make  a  feventh  nation.  'Ihe  Monacans 
or  Tufcaroras,  who  were  taken  into  the  confederacy  in 
1712,  making  the  fixth. 

The  Saponies  are  families  of  the  Wanamies,  who  re- 
moved from  New-Jerfey,  and,  with  the  Mohiccons, 
Munfies,  and  Delawares,  belong  to  the  Lenopi  nation. 
The  Mingos  arc  a  war  colony  from  the  fix  nations  ;  fo 
are  the  Cohiinnewagos. 

Of  the  reit  of  the  northern  tribes  I  never  have  been 
able  to  learn  any  thing  certain.  But  all  accounts  feem 
to  agree  in  this,  that  there  is  a  very  powerful  nation, 
diftinguilhed  by  a  variety  of  names  taken  from  the  feve- 
ral  towns  or  families,  but  commonly  called  Tawas  or 
Outawas,  who  fpeak  one  language,  and  live  round  and 
on  the  waters  that  fall  into  the  weftern  lakes,  and  extend 
from  the  waters  of  the  Ohio  quite  to  the  waters  falling 
into  Hudfon's  bay. 

APPENDIX, 

J/o.     II. 

Jrt  ihe  Summer  of  ihe  year  1783,  ii  was  expe^ied^  i hat  the 
Assembly  of  Virginia  would  call  a  Convention 

for  ihe     Efiablijhment    of   a   Constitution. 

The  following- ti^AVGHT  t/ ^  Fundamental  Con- 
stitution for   the  Commonwealth   of  Virginia 

was  then  prepared^  with  a  defgn   of  being  propofed  in 

fuch  Convention  had  it  taken  place* 

X  O  the  Citizens  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia, 
and  all  others  whom  it  may  concern,  the  Delegates  for 
the  fajd  Commonwealth  in  Conventic.n  aliembled,  fend 
greeting. 

It  is  known  to  you,  and  to  the  world,  that  the  govern- 
ment of  Great  Britain,  with  which  the  American  States 


(        T4       ) 

Hvere  not  long,  fince  conneded,  aitumed  over  them  an  aii- 
f hority  unwarrantable  and  oppreffive ;  that  they  endea- 
voured  to  enforce  this  authority  by  arms,  and  that  the 
Stares  of  New  Hanipfhire,  MnfTachufettSj  Rhode  Ifland, 
Conne6licut,  New  York,  New  Jerfey,  rennfylvania^ 
-Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  North  Carolina,  South 
Carolina,  and  Georgia,  confidering  refiftcnce,  with  all 
iiS  train  of  horrors,  as  a  lefler  evil  than  abjeft  fubraiffion, 
doled  in  the  appeal  to  arms.  It  hath  pleafed  the  Sove- 
reign Difpofer  of  all  human  events  to  give  to  this  appeal 
•.Ml  iflue  favorable  to  the  rights  of  the  States  ;  to  enable 
t!iem  to  rejett  for  ever  dl  dependance  on  a  government 
which  had  {liewn  itfelf  lo  capable  of  abilfirig  the  trufts 
rj^pofed  in  it ;  and  to  obtain  ffom  that  government  a 
folemn  and  e:?;plicit  acknowledgment  that  thfey  are  free, 
fovereign,  and  independent  dates.  During  the  progrefs 
oi:  that  war,  through  which  we  had  to  labour  for  the  ef- 
tablifhment  of  our  rights,  the  legiflature  of  the  common- 
wealth of  Virginia  found  it  neceffary  to  make  a  tempora- 
ry organization  of  government  for  preventing  anarchy, 
and  pointing  our  efforts  to  the  two  important  objefts  of 
xvar  againft  our  invaders,  and  peace  and  happinefs  among 
curfelves.  But  this,  like  all  other  a£ls  of  legiflation, 
being  fubjedt  to  change  by  fubfequent  legillatures,  pof- 
fsfling  equal  powers  with  themfelves,  it  has  been  thought 
Expedient,  that  it  fhould  receive  thofe  3. r:iendments  which 
time  and  trial  have  fuggelled,  and  be  rendered  perma- 
nent by  a  power  fuperior  to  that  of  the  ordinary  legifia- 
ture.  The  general  alTembly  therefore  of  this  ftate  re- 
cbrhmehd  it  to  the  frood  people  thereof,  to  chufe  dele- 
gates to  meet  in  gejieral  convention,  with  powers  to  form 
a  conftitution  of  government  for  them,  and  to  declare 
thofe  fundamentals  to  which  all  bur  laws  prefent  and 
future  fhall  be  fubordinfi.te  :  and,  in  compliance  with 
this  recomniendation,  they  have  thought  proper  to  make 
choice  of  us,  and  to  veft  us  with  powers  for  this  pur- 
pofe. 

We  therefore,  t!.ic  delegates,  chofenbythe  faid  good 
people  of  this  ft:a?:e  for  the  purpofe  aforefaid,  and  now 
affembled  ingen^iral  convention,  do  in  execution  of  the 
authority,  with  which  we   are  inverted,   cflablilh  the  fol- 


(     15     ) 

lowing  conditutlon  and  fundamentals  of  government  for 
the  fa  d  ftate  of  Virginia. 

Thefuid  (late  fliall  for  ever  hereafter  be  governed  as  a 
commonwealth. 

The  powers  of  government  fliall  be  divided  into  three 
diflindl  departments  each  of  them  to  be  confided  to  a  fc- 
parate  body  of  magidracy ;  to  wit,  thole  which  arc 
jegiflative  to  one,  ihofe  which  arc  judiciary  to  another^ 
and  thofc  which  are  executive  to  another.  No  perfon, 
or  coUedtion  of  perfons,  being  of  one  of  thefe  depart- 
ments, fliall  exercife  any  power  properly  belonging  to 
cither  of  the  others,  .except  in  the  inftances  hereinafter 
exprefsly  permitted. 

The  legjflature  fhall  confifl  of  two  branches,  the  one 
to  be  called  the  Houfe  of  Delegates,  the  other  the  Senate, 
and  both  together  the  General  Aifembly.  The  concur- 
rence of  both  of  thefe,  expreffed  on  three  fcveral  readings, 
{hall  be  neceflary  to  thepafiage  of  a  law. 

Delegates  for  the  general  afiembly  fhall  be .  chofen  o5i 
the  laflt  Monday  of  November  in  every  year.  But  if  an 
eledion  cannot  be  concluded  on  that  day,  it  may  be  ad- 
journed from  day  lo  day  till  it  can  be  concluded. 

The  number  of  delegates  which  each  county  may  fend 
fhall  be  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  its  qualified  elec- 
tors ;  and  the  whole  number  of  delegates  for  the  ftafe 
fhall  be  fo  proportioned  tothe  whole  number  of  qualified 
eledors  in  it,  that  tHey  fhall  never  exceed  300,  nor  be 
fewer  than  100.  Whenever  fuch  excefs  or  deficiency 
fliall  take  place,  the  Houfe"  of  Delegates  fo  deficient  or 
exccflive  lliall,  Rotwiihfranding  this,  continue  in  bein^;^^ 
during  its  legal  terin  :  but  they  fhall,'  duiing  that  term, 
rc-adjuft  the  proportion,  fo  as  to  bring  their  number 
within  the  limits  before  mentioned  at  the  enfaing  eleelion. 
If  any  county  be  reduced  in  its  qualified  eleftors  below 
the  number  authorifed  to  fend  one  delegate,  let  it  be  aiir 
nexed  to  fome  adjoining  county. 

For  the  eledlion  of  fenators,  let  the  feveral  counties 
be  allotted  by  the  fenate,  from  time  to  time,  into  fuch 
and  fo  many  difl:ri£ls  as  they  fhall  find  bifl: ;  and  let  each 
county  at  the  time  of  eledling  its  deJegates,  chufe  fcna- 
torial  eleftors,  qualified  as  themfelves  are,  and  four  in 
number  for  each  delegate  their  county  is  «ntitled  to  fen^. 


(     i6     ) 

who  fliall  convene,  andcondud  tliemfelves,  infuch  man- 
ner as  the  legiflature  fliall  direft,  with  the  fenatorial  elec- 
tors from  the  other  coundes  of  their  diftridi:,  and  then 
chufe,  by  ballot,  one  fenator  for  every  fix  delegates 
which  their  diftrid  is  entitled  to  chufe.  Let  the  fenatorial 
diftricls  be  divided  into  two  chiffes,  and  let  the  members 
elefted  for  one  of  them  be  diifolved  at  the  firll  enfuing 
general  election  of  delegates,  the  other  at  the  next,  and 
fo  on  alternately  for  ever. 

All  free  male  citizens,  of  full  age,  and  fane  mind, 
who  for  one  year  before  (hall  have  been  relident  in  the 
county,  or  fiiall  through  the  whole  of  that  time  have 
pofleffed  therein  real  property  of  the  value  of  or 

ihallforthe  fame  tim.e  have  been  enrolled  in  the  militia, 
and  no  others,  fhall  have  a  right  to  vote  for  delegates  for 
thefaid  county,  and  for  fenatorial  eledors  for  the  diflricl. 
They  fhall  give  their  votes  perfonally,  and  viva  voce. 

The  general  aflembly  fliall  meet  at  the  place  to  which 
the  lafl  adjournment  was,  on  the  42d  day  after  the  day 
of  the  eledion  of  delegates,  and  thenceforward  at  any 
other  time  or  place  on  their  own  adjournment,  till  their 
office  expires,  which  fhall  be  on  the  day  preceding  that 
appointed  for  the  meeting  of  the  next  general  aifembly* 
But  if  they  fhall  at  any  time  adjourn  for  more  than  one 
year,  it  fhall  be  as  if  they  had  adjourned  for  one  year 
precifely.  Neither  houfe,  without  the  concurrence  of 
the  other,  fliall  adjourn  for  more  than  one  week,  nor  to 
any  other  place  than  the  one  at  which  they  are  fitting. — 
The  governor  fliall  alfo  have  power,  v^dth  the  advice  of 
the  council  of  flate,  to  call  them  at  any  other  time  to  the 
fame  place,  or  to  a  different  one,  if  that  fliall  hav^  be- 
come fince  the  lafl  adjournment,  dangerous  from  an  ene-. 
my,  or  from  infeftion. 

A  majority  of  either  houfe  fhall  be  a  quorum,  and 
fhall  be  requifite  for  doing  bufinefs  :  but  any  fmaller  pro- 
portion which  from  time  to  time  fliall  be  thought  expe- 
dient by  the  refpeftive  houfes,  fhall  be  fufficient  to  call 
for,  and  to  punifh,  their  non-attending  members,  and 
to  adjourn  themfelves  for  any  time  not  exceeding  one 
week. 

The  members,  during  their  attendance  on  the  general 
aflembly,  and  for  fo  long  a  time  be*ore  and  after  as  fliall 


(     '7     ) 

be  necelTary  for  travelling  to  and  from  the  fame,  (ball  be 
privileged  from  all  perfonal  reftiaint  and  aPault,  and  fhall 
have  no  other  privilege  whatfoever.  They  fliall  receive 
during  the  fame  time,  daily  wages  in  gold  or  filver, 
equal  to  the  value  of  two  buihels  oi  wheat.  This  value 
fhall  be  deemed  one  dollar  by  the  bufhel  rill  the  year 
1790,  in  which,  and  in  every  tenth  year  thereafter,  the 
g  iieral  court,  at  their  firll  fellion  in  the  year,  {hall  caufe 
a  fpecial  jury,  of  the  moft  refpedable  merchants  and 
firmers,  to  be  fummoned,  to  declare  what  (hall  have 
been  the  averaged  value  of  wheat  during  the  lafl  ten 
years  ;  which  averaged  value  (liall  be  the  meafure  of 
va;^es  for  the  ten  fubfequent  years. 

Cf  this  general  aflembly,  the  treafurer,  attorney  ge- 
neral, regifter,  minifters  of  the  gofpel,  officers  of  the 
regular  armies  of  this  ftate,  or  of  the  United  States, 
pcrfons  receiving  falaries  or  emoluments  fiom  any  power 
foreign  to  our  confederacy,  thofe  who  are  not  refident 
in  the  county  for  which  they  are  chofen  delegates,  or 
diftrids  for  which  they  are  chofen  fcnators,  thofe  who 
arc  not  qualified  as  ele£lors,  perfons  who  (hail  have  com* 
mitted  treafon,  felony,  or  fuch  other  crime  as  would  fub- 
ject  them  to  infamous  puniflimcnt,  or  who  (hall  have 
been  convi6ted  by  due  courfe  of  law,  of  bribary  or  cor- 
ruption, in  endeavoring  to  procure  an  eledion  to  the 
faid  affembly,  fhall  be  incapable  of  being  members.  All 
others,  not  herein  elfewhere  excluded,  who  may  eled, 
fliall  be  capable  of  being  elected  thereto. 

Any  member  of  the  faid  affembly  accepting  any  office 
of  profit  under  this  flate,  or  the  United  States,  or  any 
of  them,  (hall  thereby  vacate  his  feat,  but  fhall  be  capable 
of  being  re-elected. 

Vacancies  occafioned  by  fuch  difqualifications,  by 
death,  or  other  wife,  fliall  be  fupplicd  by  the  ele(flors, 
on  a  writ  from  the  fpeaker  of  the  refpedive  houfe. 

The  general  affembly  fhall  not  have  power  to  infringe 
this  conflitution  ;  to  abridge  the  civil  rights  of  any  per- 
fon  on  account  of  his  religious  belief ;  to  reflrain  him 
from  profeffing  and  fupporting  that  belief,  or  to  compel 
him  to  contributions,  other  than  thofe  he  fhall  have  per- 
fonally  Itipulated  tor   the  lupport  of  that  or  anv  other  ; 

C 


(     18     ) 

to  ordain  death  for  any  crime  but  treaf-in  or  murder,  or 
military  oileaecs  ;  lo,  par.fon,  or  give  a  power  of  par- 
doning perions  duly  convicled  of  freafon  or  felony,  but 
inflfcad  thereof  they  may  fubiHtute  one  or  two  new  trials, 
and  no  more;  to  pafs  laws  for  paiiiOiing  actions  done 
before  the  exiilence  or  fuch  laws  ;  to  pafs  any  bill  of  at- 
tainder of  treafon  or  felony  ;  to  prefcribe  torture  in  any 
cafe  whatever  ;  nor  to  permit  the  introdu'iioti  of  any 
more  flaves  to  rehde  in  this  (rate,  o^"  the  continuance  of 
llavery  beyond  the  generation  which  Pnall  be  living  on  the 
thirty-firil  diy  of  December,  one  thou'knd  eight  hun- 
dred :  all  perfons  born  after  that  day  being  hereby  de- 
clared 1^-ee. 

The  general  affembly  (liall  have  power  to  fever  from 
this  (late  all  or  any  parts  of  its  territory  weftward  of  the 
Ohio,  or  of  the  meridian  of  the  mouth  of  the  Grear 
Kanhaw?:y,  and  to  cede  to  congrefs  one  hundred  fquare 
miles  of  territory  in  any  other  part  of  this  (late,  exempt- 
ed from  the  jurifdidion  and  government  of  this  Hate  lo 
long  as  Congrefs  (hall  hold  their  feffions  therein,  or  in 
any  terrlicry  adjacent  thereto,  v/hich  may  be  ceded  to- 
them  by  any  other  ftate. 

They  (liall  have  power  to  appoint  the  fpeakers  of  their 
refpeG?ive  houfes,  treafurer,  auditors,  attorney  general, 
regifter,  all  general  officers  of  the  mihtary,  their  own 
clerks  and  ferjeanrs,  and  no  other  officers,  except  where,, 
in  other  parts  of  ihis  conftitution,  fuch  appointment  is 
exprefsly  given  them. 

The  executive  powers  (hall  be  exerciled  by  a  Governor, 
who  (hall  bechofen  by  joint  ballot  of  both  houfes  of  af- 
fembly, and  whenchofen  (hall  remain  in  office  five  years, 
and  be  ineligible  a  fecond  time.  During  his  term  he  fliall 
bold  no  other  office  or  emolument  under  this  (late,  or. 
any  other  (late  or  power  whatfoever.  By  executive  pow- 
ers, v/e  mean  no  reference  to  thofe  powers  exercifed  un- 
der our  former  government  by  the  crown  as  of  its  prero- 
gative, nor  that  thefe  (hall  be  the  (landard  of  what  may 
or  may  not  be  deemed  the  rightful  powers  of  the  gover- 
nor. We  give  him  thofe  powers  only,  which  are  necef- 
fary  to  execute  the  laws  (and  adrniniller  the  government) 
and  which  are  not  in  their  nature  cither  legiflative  or  ju- 
diciary.    The  application  of  this  idea  mufl  be  left  to  rca- 


(     19     ) 

ion.  We  do  however  exprcfsly  deny  him  the  prerogative 
powers  of  creeling  courts,  ofRces,  boroughs,  corpora- 
tions, fairs,  markets,  ports,  beacons,  licht-houfcs,  and 
fca-marks ;  of  lavinG;  etnbargoes,  oF  e(iab)Hhin<j  prece- 
dence, of  retaining  within  the  (late  or  recalling  ro  it  any 
citizen  thereof,  and  of  making  denizens,  except  fo  far 
as  he  may  be  authorifed  from  time  to  time  by  the  legifla- 
ture  to  exercife  any  of  thofe  powers.  The  powers  of 
declaring  war  and  concluding  peace,  of  contradiiig  alli- 
ances, of  iffuing  letters  of  marnue  and  reprifa),  of  raif- 
ing  and  introducing  armed  forces,  of  building  armed 
vcffels,  forts,  or  ftrong  holds,  of  coining  money  or  re- 
gulating its  value,  of  regulating  wei;^hts  and  mcafures, 
we  leave  to  beexercifed  under  the  authority  of  the  confe- 
deration :  but  in  all  cafes  refpecting  them  which  are  out 
of  the  faid  confederation,  they  (hall  be  exerciled  by  f.e 
governor,  under  the  regulation  of  fuch  laws  as  ths  legif- 
iature  may  think  it  expedient  to  pafs. 

The  whole  military  of  the  (fate,  whether  regular,  or 
of  militia,  (hall  be  fubjett  to  his  direiiions ;  but  he 
fliall  leave  the  execution  of  thofe  directions  to  the  gene- 
ral officers  appointed  by  the  legiflature. 

His  falary  fliail  be  fixed  by  the  legiilatur?  at  the  fedion 
of  the  aflembly  in  which  he  fhali  be  appointed,  and  be- 
fore fuch  appointment  be  made ;  or  if  it  be  not  then  fix- 
ed, it  fhall  be  the  fame  which  his  next  predeceffor  in  of- 
fice was  entitled  to.  In  either  cafe  he  may  demand  it 
quarterly  cut  of  any  money  which  (liall  be  in  the  public 
treaiury  ;  and  it  {hall  not  be  in  the  power  of  the  iegiflature 
to  give  him  lefs  or  more,  either  during  his  continuance 
in  office,  or  after  he  fhail  have  gone  out  of  ir.  The  lands, 
houfes,  and  other  things  appropriated  to  the  ufe  of  the 
governor,  (hall  remain  to  his  ufe  during  his  con''innance 
in  office. 

A  Council  of  Stale  Pna  1  be  chofen  by  joint  ballot  of 
both  houfes  of  affembly,  who  (hall  hold  their  offices  feven 
years,  and  be  ineligible  a  fecond  time,  and  who,  while 
they  (hall  be  of  the  faid  council,  (hall  hold  no  other  of- 
fice or  emolument  under  this  (fate,  or  any  other  ftate  or 
power  whatfoever.  'i'heir  duty  fliali  be  to  attend  and 
advife  the  governor  when  called  on  by  him,  and  their 
advice  in  any  cafe  (hall  be  a  fanclion  to  him*     Tliey  (liall 


alfo  hu.ve  power,  and  it  fliall  be  their  duty,  to  meet  at 
their  own  will,  and  to  give  their  advice,  though  not  re- 
quired by  the  governor,  in  cafes  where  they  (hall  think 
the  public  good  calls  for  it.  There  advice  and  proceed- 
ings lliall  be  entered  in  books  to  be  kept  for  that  pnrpofe, 
and  Qiail  be  figned  as  approved  or  difapproved  bv  the 
members  pre'ent.  Thefe  books  fnallbe  laid  before  either 
houfe  of  affembly  when  called  for  by  them.  The  faid 
council  fhall  confifl:  of  eight  members  for  the  prefe.it  : 
but  t]?eir  numbers  may  be  increafed  or  reduced  by  the 
leciflarure,  whenever  they  fnall  think  it  neceffary  :  pro- 
vided fuch  reduction  be  made  only  as  the  appointments 
■become  vacant  by  death,  refignation,  diiquatiiication,  or 
regular  deprivation.  A  majority  of  their  a6lual  nviuibcr, 
nnd  not  fewer,  fliall  be  a  quorum.  They  fhall  be  allowed 
for  the  prefent  each  by  the  year,  payable  qu'dr- 

terly  out  of  any  money  which  fhall  be  in  the  public  trea- 
fury.  Their  falarv  however  may  be  increafed  or  abated 
from  time  to  time,  at  the  difcretion  of  the  Icoiflature  ; 
provided  fuch  increafe  or  abatement  (hall  not,  by  any 
ways  or  means,  be  made  to  affe<fl  either  then,  or  at  any 
future  rime,  any  one  of  thofe  then  aclually  in  office  — 
At  the  end  of  each  quarter  their  falarv  fliall  be  divided  into 
equal  portions  by  the  number  cf  days  on  which,  during 
that  quarter,  a  council  has  been  held,  or  required  by  the 
governor,  or  by  their  own  adjournment,  and  orre  of 
thofe  portions  fliill  be  v/ithheld  from  each  member  for 
every  of  the  faid  davs  wh  ch ,  without  caufe  allowed  good 
by  the  board,  he  f;;iied  to  attend,  or  departed  before  ad- 
journm.ent  without  their  leave.  If  no  board  fliould  have 
been  held  during  that  quarter,  there  iliali  be  no  deduc- 
tion. 

They  (hall  annually  chufe  a  Prcftdent,  who  fliall  prefide 
in  council  in  the  abfence  of  the  governor,  and  v.'ho,  in 
rafe  of  his  office  becoming  vacant  by  death  or  otherwife, 
ihali  have  authori-.y  to  exercife  all  his  functions,  till  a  new 
pppointm.ent  be  made,  as  lie  Oall  aif^  in  any  interval  dur- 
ing which  the  governor  fliall  declare  himfclf  unable  to 
sttend  to  the  duties  of  his  office. 

The  Judiciary  powers  ihall  be  exercifed  by  county 
courts  and  fuch  other  inferior  courts  as  the  legillature 
ftail  think  proper  to  continue  or  to  ereil:,  by  three  fiipe- 


(  ^'  ) 

rior  courts,  to  wit,  a  roiirt  of  admira'tv.  a  j^eneral  court 
oi  conimcn  law,  and  a  high  court  of  chancery  ;  and  by 
one  fupreme  court,  to  be  called  the  court  of  appeals. 

The  judges  cf  the  high  ccurt  of  chnncery,  general 
couit,  and  court  ot  admiralty,  fliall  be  four  in  number 
each,  to  be  appointed  by  joint  ba  lot  of  both  hf.ufes  of 
aflembly,  and  to  hold  their  offices  during  good  behavi- 
our. While  they  continue  judges,  they  Ihall  hold  no 
other  office  or  emolument,  under  iliis  ftate,  or  any  other 
(fate  or  power  whatfoever,  except  that  they  may  be 
delegated  to  Congrefs,  receiving  no  additional  allow- 
ance. , 

Theie  jv'dges,  affembled  together,  fliall  conftitute  the 
Court  of  iippeals,  whofe  bufmefs  Ihail  be  to  receive  and 
determine  appeals  from  the  three  fuperior  courts  but  to 
receive  no  original  cauies,  except  in  the  cafes  exprefsly 
permitted  herein. 

A  majority  of  the  members  of  either  of  thefe  courts, 
and  not  fewer,  rnall  be  a  quorum.  But  in  the  Court  of 
Appeals  nine  members  ihail  be  neceiTaiy  to  do  bufinefs, 
y\ny  fmaller  numbers  however  may  be  authorifed  by  the 
Icgiflature  to  adjourn  tl.eir  refpeclive  courts. 

'1  hey  fliall  be  allowed  for  the  prefent  each 

by  the  year,  payable  quarterly  out  of  any  money  which 
ihall  be  in  the  public  trea(?ury.  Their  lalaries  however 
mav  be  increaled  or  abated,  from  time  to  time,  at  the 
difcretion  of  the  legiflature,  provided  fuch  increafe  or 
abatement  (hall  not,  by  any  ways  or  means,  be  made  to 
alfecl:,  either  then,  or  at  any  future  titiie,  any  one  of 
thofethen  actually  in  office.  At  the  end  of  each  quar-. 
ter  their  falary  fhall  be  divided  into  equal  portions  by  the 
number  of  days  on  which,  during  that  quarter,  their 
rcfpedive  courts  fat,  or  ihould  have  fat,  and  one  of  thefe 
portions  (hall  be  withheld  from  each  member  for  every 
of  the  faid  days,  which,  without  caufe  allowed  good  by 
his  court,  he  failed  to  attend,  or  departed  before  adjourn- 
ment without  their  leave.  If  no  court  fhould  have  been 
held  during  the  quarter,  there  fliall  be  no  dedudion. 

1  here  fhall  moreover  be  a  Court  of  Impeachments  to 
confill  of  three  members  of  the  Council  of  State,  one 
of  eacii  oi  the  fuperior  Courts  of  Chancery,  Common 
Law,  and  Admiralty,  two  members  of  the  houfe  of  de- 


7      22      ). 

legates  and  one  of  the  Senate,  to  be  chofen  by  the  body 
refpeftively  of  which  they  are.  Before  this  court  any 
member  of  the  three  branches  of  government,  that  is 
to  fay,  the  governor,  any  member  of  the  council,  of 
the  two  houfes  of  legiflature,  or  of  the  fuperior  courts*, 
may  be  impeached  by  the  governor,  the  council,  or 
either  of  the  faid  houfes  or  courts,  and  by  no  other,  for 
fuch  mifbehaviour  in  office  as  would  be  fufficient  to  remove 
him  therefrom :  and  the  only  fentence  they  Qiall  have 
authority  to  pafs  fhall  be  that  of  deprivation  and  future 
incapacity  of  office.  Seven  members  Hi  all  be  requifite 
to  make  a  court,  and  two  thirds  of  thofe  prefent  mufl 
concur  in  the  fententze.  The  offences  cognizable  by  this 
court  (hall  be  cognizable  by  no  other,  and  they  fliall  be 
triers  of  the  faft  as  well  as  judges  of  the  law^  \- 

The  juftices  or  judges  of  the  inferior  courts  already 
ereded,  or  hereafter  to  be  erected,  fhall  be  appointed  by 
the  governor,  on  advice  of  the  council  of  rtatc,  and 
fhall  hold  their  offices  during  good  behaviour,  or 
the  exiftenre  of  their  court.  For  breach  of  the 
good  behaviour,  they  Ihall  be  tried  according  to 
the  laws  of  the  land,  before  the  court  of  Appeals, 
who  (hall  be  judges  of  the  hd:  as  well  as  of  the  law. — ■ 
The  only  fentence  they  fliall  have  authority  to  pafs,  (hall 
be  that  of  deprivation  and  future  incapacity  of  office, 
and  two  thirds  of  the  members  prefent  mu(i  concur  in 
this  fentence. 

All  courts  (hall  appoint  their  own  clerks,  who  (haU 
hold  their  offices  during  good  behaviour,  or  the  exiftence 
of  their  court :  they  (Iiall  alfo  appoint  all  other  their  at- 
tending officers  to  continue  during  their  pleafure.  Clerks 
appointed  by  the  fupreme  or  the  fuperior  courts  (hall  be 
removeable  by  their  refpeftive  courts.  Ihofe  to  be  ap- 
pointed by  other  courts  (lull  have  been  previoufly  exa- 
mined, and  certified  to  be  duly  qualified,  by  fome  two 
^Members  of  the  general  court,  and  (liall  be  removeable 
ff)r  breach  of  the  good  behaviour  by  the  Court  of  Ap- 
peals only,  who  fliall  be  judges  of  the  fa£l  as  well  as  of 
the  law.  Two-thirds  of  the  members  prefent  muft  con- 
cur in  the  fentence. 

The  judicesor  judges  of  the  inferio:  courts  may  be 
members  of  the  Icgidature. 


(     ^3     ) 

The  judgment  of  no  inferior  coinf  fhill  he  final,  in 
2kny  civil  caie,  of  greater  \alue  than  c;obufhelbof  wheat, 
as  laft  rated  in  the  general  court  for  fettling  the  allowance 
to  the  members  of  the  genera!  alTembly,  nor  in  :iny  cafe 
of  treafon,  felony,  or  other  criine  which  fhould  fubjcct 
the  party  to  infamous  punilhment. 

In  all  caufes  depending  before  any  court,  other  than 
thofe  of  impeachments,  of  appeal;),  and  military  court.*, 
fa£ts  put  in  ilTue  fliall  be  tried  by  jury,  and  in  all  courts 
whateyer  witnelTes  Ihall  give  teOiiinony  viva  voce  in  open 
court,  wherever  their  attendance  can  be  procured  :  and 
all  parties  fhall  be  allowed  counfel  ?.nd  compulfory  pro- 
cefs  for  their  witnefl'es. 

Fines,  amercements,  and  terms  of  imprifonment  left 
indefinite  by  the  law,  other  than  for  contempts,  (hall  be 
fixed  by  the  jury,  triers  of  the  offence. 

The  governor,  two  councillors  of  the  flate,  and  a 
judge  from  each  of  the  fuperior  Courts  of  Chancery, 
Common  Law,  and  Admiralty,  fliall  be  a  council  to  re- 
vile all  bills  which  fliall  have  paiTcd  both  houfes  of  affem- 
bly,  in  which  council  the  governor,  when  prefenr,  fliall 
prefide.  Every  bill,  before  it  becomes  a  law,  fliall  be 
^prefented  to  this  council,  who  fliall  have  a  right  to  ad- 
vife  its  rejection,  returning  the  bill,  with  their  advice 
and  reafons  in  writing,  to  the  houfe  in  which  it  originate 
ed,  who  fliall  proceed  to  rcconfider  the  faid  bill.  But  if 
after  fuch  reconfideration,  two  thirds  of  the  houfe  flial! 
be  of  opinion  the  bill  fhould  pafs  finally,  they  fliall  pafs 
and  fend  it,  with  the  advice  and  written  reafons  of  the 
faid  Council  of  Revifion  to  the  other  houfe,  wherein,  if 
two-thirds  alfo  fliall  be  of  opinion  it  fliould  pafs  finally, 
it  Ihall  thereupon  become  law  :  otherwife  it  fnall  not. 

If  any  bill,  prefented  to  the  faid  council,  be  not, 
within  one  week  (exclufive  of  the  day  of  prefenting  it) 
returned  by  them,  with  their  advice  of  rejedion  and 
reafons,  to  the  houfe  wherein  it  originated,  or  to  the 
clerk  of  the  faid  houfe,  in  cafe  of  its  adjournment  over 
the  expiration  of  the  week,  it  fliali  be  law  from  the  ex- 
piration of  the  week,  and  fliall  then  be  demandable  by, 
the  clerk  of  the  houfe  of  delegates,  to  be  filed  for  record 
in  his  ofiice. 


(    ^4    ) 

The  bills  which  they  approve  fh?ll  become  law  from 
the  time  of  fuch  approbation,  and  fball  then  be  return- 
ed to,  or  demandable  by,  the  clerk  of  the  houfe  of  de- 
legates, to  be  filed  of  record  in  his  office. 

A  bill  rejeded  on  advice  of  the  council  of  revi^jon 
may  again  be  propofed,  during  the  fame  feffion  of  afiem- 
t>ly,  with  fuch  alteraiions  as  will  render  it  comformable 
to  their  advice. 

The  members  of  the  faid  council  of  revifion  fhall  be 
appointed  from  time  to  time  by  the  board  or  court  of 
which  they  refpeftively  are.  Tv/o  of  the  executive  and 
two  of  the  judiciary  members  fhall  be  requifite  to  do 
bufmefs  :  and  to  prevent  the  evils  of  non-attendance, 
the  board  and  courts  may,  at  any  time  name  all,  or  fo 
many  as  they  will,  of  their  members,  in  the  particulaf 
order  in  which  they  would  chufe  the  duty  of  attendance 
to  devolve  from  preceding  to  fubfequent  members,  the 
preceding  failing  to  attend.  Thev  (hall  have  additionally 
for  their  fervices  in  this  council  the  fame  allowance  as 
members  of  affembly  have. 

The  confederation  is  made  a  part  of  this  conftitution, 
fubjeft  to  fuch  future  alterations  as  fhall  be  agreed  to  by 
the  legiflature  of  this  ftate,  and  by  all  the  other  confede- 
rating ftates. 

The  delegates  to  congrefs  fliall  be  five  in  number  ;  any 
three  of  whom,  and  no  fewer,  may  be  a  reprefentation. 
They  fhall  be  appointed  by  joint  ballot  of  both  houfes 
of  aflembly  for  any  term  not  exceeding  one  year,  fub- 
je£b  to  be  recalled,  within  the  term,  by  joint  vote  of 
both  the  faid  houfes.  They  may  at  the  fame  time  be 
members  of  the  legiflativeor  judiciary  departments,  but 
not  of  the  executive. 

The  benefits  of  the  writ  of  Habeas  Corpus  fhall  be 
extended,  by  the  legiflature,  to  every  perfon  within  this 
ftate,  and  without  fee,  and  fhall  be  fo  facilitated  that  no 
perfon  may  be  detained  in  prifon  more  than  ten  days  af- 
ter he  fhall  have  demanded  and  been  refufed  fuch  writ  by 
the  judge  appointed  by  law,  or  if  none  be  appointed, 
then  by  any  judge  of  a  fuperior  court,  nor  more  than 
ten  days  after  fuch  writ  fhall  have  l>een  fcrved  on  the  per- 
fon detaining  him,  and  no  order  given,  on  due  examina- 
tion, for  his  rcmandment  or  difcharge. 


(    i5    ) 

The  military  fliall  be  fubordinate  to  the  civil  power* 

Prill! ins;- preiVes  fhall  be  fulijcift  to  no  other  reflraint 
than  liabienefs  to  legal  profecutioii  lor  ialfe  lacts  printed 
and  publidied. 

Any  two  of  the  three  branches  of  government  con- 
runing  in  opinion,  each  by  the  voices  of  two-thirds  of 
their  whols  exifling  number,  that  a  convention  is  necef- 
larv  for  alterin«r  this  conftitution,  or  correfting  breaches 
of  it,  they  fhall  be  authorifed  to  ilfue  writs  to  every  coun- 
ty for  the  eleftion  of  fo  many  delegates  as  they  are  au- 
thorifed to  fend  to  the  general  aflfembly,  which  eletSlions 
fliall  be  held,  and  writs  returned,  as  the  laws  fliall  have 
provided  in  the  cafe  of  ele<5tions  of  delegates  to  aflcmbly, 
muratis  mutandis,  and  the  faid  delegates  fhall  meet  at  the 
ufual  place  of  holding  affemblies,  three  months  after 
date  of  luch  writs,  and  fhall  be  acknowledged  to  have 
equal  powers  with  this  prefent  convention.  The  faid 
writs  fhall  be  figned  by  all  the  members  approving  the 
fame. 

To  introduce  this  government,  the  following  fpccial  and 
temporary  provifion  is  made. 

This  convention  being  authorifed  only  to  amend  thofe 
laws  which  conftituted  the  form  of  government,  no  ge- 
neral diilblution  of  the  whole  fyflem  of  laws  can  be  fup- 
pofed  to  have  taken  place :  but  all  laws  in  force  at  the 
meeting  of  this  convention,  and  not  inconfillent  with 
this  conflitution,  remain  in  full  force,  fubjed:  to  altera- 
tions by  the  ordinary  legiflature. 

The  prel'ent  general  alfembly  fliall  continue  till  the  42d 
day  after  the  lafl  Monday  of  November  in  this  prefent 
year.  On  the  faid  lafl  Monday  of  November  in  this  pre- 
fent year,  the  fevsral  counties  fliall  by  their  electors  qua- 
lified as  provided  by  this  conftitution,  cle6l  delegates, 
which  for  the  prefent  Oiall  be,  in  number,  one  for  every 
militia  of  the  faid  county,  according  to 
the  lateft  returns  in  poffeffion  of  the  governor,  nnd  (hall 
alfo  chufe  fenatorial  electors  in  proportion  thereto,  which 
fenatorial  eledlors  fhall  meet  on  the  14th  day  after  the  day 
of  their  election,  at  the  court-houfe  of  that  county  of 
their  prefent  diftrid  which  would  ftand  firit  in  an  alpha- 
betical arrangenient  of  their  counties,  and  fliall  chufe 

D 


(    i6    ) 

fenators  in  the  proportion  fixfed  by  this  conftitution.  The 
cledlions  and  returns  Ihall  be  conducted,  in  ali  circum- 
ftances  not  hereby  particularly  prefcribed,  by  the  fame 
perfons  and  under  the  fame  forms,  as  prefcribed  by  the 
prefent  laws  in  eledions  of  lenators  and  delegates  of  af- 
fembly.  The  faid  fenators  and  delegates  fhall  conftitute 
the  firft:  general  atfembly  of  the  new  government,  and 
fhail  fpecially  apply  themfelves  to  the  procuring  an  exad: 
return  from  every  county  of  the  number  of  its  qualified 
eledors,  and  to  the  fettlement  of  the  number  of  dele- 
gates to  be  ele^ed  for  the  enfuing  general  aflembly. 

1  he  prefent  governor  Ihall  continue  in  office  to  the  en4 
of  the  term  for  which  he  was  elefted. 

Ali  other  cflicers  of  every  kind  Ihall  continue  in  office 
as  they  would  have  done  had  their  appointment  been  un- 
der this  conftiturion,  and  new  ones,  where  new  are  here- 
by called  for,  fhall  be  appointed  by  the  authority  to 
■which  fuch  appointment  is  referred.  One  of  the  pre- 
fent judges  of  the  general  court,  he  confenting  thereto, 
fiiall  by  joint  ballot  of  both  houfes  of  alTembiy,  at  their^ 
j^rfl  meeting,  be  transferred  to  the  High  Court  of  Chau-*' 
eery. 

APPENDIX, 

J^o.      III. 

\Aji  JCT fir  eJabl'i/hing'R ELlGiovsT'iiKEDOM,  pajfed  hi 
the  /jjfembly  of  Virginia  in  the  beginning  ff  the  year 
1786. 

\^ELL  aware  that  Almighty  God  hath  created  the 
nnnd  free  ;  that  all  attempts  to  influence  it  by  temporal 
punilhments  or  burdens,  or  by  civil  incapacitations,  tend 
only  to  beget  habits  of  hypocrify  and  meannefs,  and 
are  a  departure  from  the  plan  of  the  Holy  Author  of  our 
religion,  who  beiftg  Lord  both  of  body  and  mind,  yet 
chofe  not  to  propagate  it  by  coercions  on  either,  as  was 
an  his  Almighty  power  to  do  ;  that  the  impious  prefump- 
tion  of  legiliators  and  rulers,  civil  as  well  as  ecckfiafti- 


(    27    ) 

cal,  who,  beirif^  themfelves  but  fallible  and  unlnfplred 
men  have  afTuuied  dominion  over  the  faith  of  others, 
fttiing  up  their  own  opinions  and  modes  of  thinking  as 
the  only  true  and  infallible,  and  as  fuch  endeavouring  to 
impo'.e  them  on  others,  hath  eflablifhed  and  maintained 
fjl'e  religions  over  the  greateft  part  of  the  world,  and 
through  all  time  ;  that  to  compel  a  man  to  furnifii  contri- 
butions of  money  for  the  propagation  of  opinions  which 
he  difbelieves,  is  fmful  and  tyrannical  ;  that  even  ths 
forcing  him  to  lupport  this  or  that  teacher  of  his  own 
reHi^ious  pcrfaafion,  is  depriving  him  of  the  comfortable 
liberty  of  g5vin;r  his  contributions  to  the  particular  paltor 
whofe  morals  he  would  make  his  pattern,  and  whofc 
powers  he  feels  moft  perfuafive  to  righteoufnels,  anJ  is 
withdrawing  from  the  miniltry  thofe  temporal  rewards, 
which,  proceeding  from  an  approbation  ot  their  perfonal 
conduct,  are  an  additional  incitement  to  earneft  and  un- 
remitting labours  for  the  inftruction  of  mankind  ;  that 
cur  civil  rights  have  no  dependance  on  our  religious  opi- 
nions, more  than  our  opinions  in  phyfics  or  geometry: 
that  therefore  the  profcribing  any  citizen  as  unworthy 
the  public  confidence  by  laying  upon  him  an  incapacity 
of  being  called  to  offices  of  trull  and  emolument,  unlefs 
they  profefs  or  renounce  this  or  that  religious  opinion,  is 
depriving  hiin  injurioufly  of  thofe  privileges  and  advan- 
tages to  which,  in  common  with  his  fellow-citizens, he  has 
a  natural  right ;  that  it  tends  only  to  corrupt  the  princi- 
ples of  that  religion  it  is  meant  to  encourage,  by  bribing 
with  a  mono-:oly  of  wcrdly  honours  and  emoluments, 
thofe  who  will  externally  profefs  and  conform  to  it  ;  that 
though  indeed  thtfe  are  criminal  who  do  not  withfland 
fuch  temptation,  yet  neither  are  thofe  innocent  who  lay 
the  bait  in  the  way  ;  that  to  fuffer  the  civil  Magiftrate  to 
intrude  his  powers  in  the  field  of  opinion,  and  to  reflrain 
the  profellion  or  propagation  of  principles  on  fuppofitioii 
of  their  ill  tendency,  is  a  dangerous  fallacy,  which  at  once 
deftroys  all  religious  liberty,  becaufe  he  being  of  courfe 
judge  of  that  tendency,  will  make  his  opinions  the  rule 
of  judgement,  and  approve  or  condemn  the  fenti- 
ments  of  others  only  as  they  ftiall  fquare  with  or  dif- 
fer from  his  own  ;  that  it  is  time  enough  for  th^ 
rightful  purpofes  of  civil  governraent,   for  its   officers 


(     i«     ) 

to  interfere  when  principles  break  out  into  overt  aclg 
againft  peace  and  good  order  ;  and  finally,  that  truth  is 
great  and  will  prevail  if  left  to  herfelf,  that  (lie  is  the 
proper  and  fufficient  antagonift  to  error,  and  has  nothing 
to  fear  from  the  conflid,  unlefs  by  human  interpofition 
difarmed  of  her  natural  weapons,  free  argument  and  de- 
bate, errors  ceafmg  to  be  dangerous  when  it  is  permitted 
freely  to  contradidl  them. 

Be  it  therefore  ena^ed  by  the  General  Jjffejiibly,  That  no 
man  fnall  be  compelled  to  frequent  or  fupport  any  religi- 
ous worfhip,  place  or  minillry  whatfoever,  nor  Ihall  be 
enforced,  reftrained,  molefted,  or  burthened  in  his  body 
or  goods,  nor  fhall  otherwife  fuffer  on  account  of  his 
religious  opinions  or  belief;  but  that  all  men  fhall  be 
free  to  profefs,  and  by  argument  to  maintain,  their  opi- 
nions in  matters  of  religion,  and  that  the  fame  fhall  in 
no  wife  diminifli,  enlarge,  or  affed  their  civil  capaci- 
ties. 

And  though  we  well  know  that  this  AfTembly,  eleded 
by  the  people  for  the  ordinary  purpofes  of  Icgiflation  only, 
have  no  power  to  reftrain  the  ads  of  fucceeding  Aflem- 
blies,  conftituted  with  powers  equal  to  our  own,  and  that 
therefore  to  declare  this  ad  irrevocable,  would  be  of  no 
effed  in  law,  yet  we  are  free  to  declare,  and  do  declare, 
that  the  rights  hereby  alferted,  are  of  the  natural  rights 
of  mankind,  and  that  if  any  ad  fhall  be  hereafter  pafTed 
to  repeal  theprefent  or  to  narrow  its  operation,  fuch  ad 
will  be  an  infringement  of  natural  right. 


ApVeNDIX,  No.  4. 

Relative  to  the  Murder  of  Logan's  Family. 

A  Letter  to  Governor  Henry,  of  Maryland. 

Philadelphia y  December  2,^Jl,  1797. 


M 


LEAR   Sm, 


R.  Tazewell  ha?  communicated  to  me  the  en- 
quiries you  have  been  fo  kind  as  to  make,  relative  to  a  paf- 
fage  in  the  Notes  on  Virginia,  which  has  lately  excited 
foiie  nevvfpaper  publications.  I  feel,  with  great  fenfibi- 
lity,  theintereft  you  take  in  this  bufinefj,  and  with  plea- 
fure,  go  into  explanations  with  one  whofe  obje£ls  I  know 
to  be  truth  and  juftice  alone.  Had  Mr.  Martin  thought 
proper  to  fuggefl;  to  me,  that  doubts  might  be  entertain- 
ed of  the  tranfaclion  refpeding  Logan,  as  dated  in  the 
Notes  on  Virginia,  and  to  enquire  on  what  grounds  that 
ftatemcnt  was  founded,  I  fhould  have  felt  myfelf  obliged 
by  the  enquiry, have  informed  him  candidly  of  thegrounds, 
and  cordially  have  co-operated  in  every  means  of  invefti- 
gating  the  fact,  and  correcting  whatfoever  in  it  Ihould  be 
found  to  have  been  erroneous.  But  he  chofe  to  (lep  at 
once  into  the  newfpapers,  and  in  his  publications  there  and 
the  letters  he  wrote  to  me,  adopted  a  ftyle  which  forbade 
the  refpecl  of  an  anfwer.  Senfible,  however,  that  no  ad; 
of  his  could  abfolve  me  from  the  juftice  due  to  others,  as 
foon  as  I  found  that  the  ftory  of  Logan  could  be  doubted, 
I  determined  to  enquire  into  it  as  accurately  as  the  tefti- 
mony  remaining,  after  a  lapfe  of  twenty  odd  years,  would 
permit,  and  that  the  refult  fhould  be  made  known,  either 
in  the  firft  new  edition  which  fhould  be  printed  of  the 
Notes  on  Virginia,  or  by  publifliingan  appendix.  I  thought 
that  fo  far  as  that  work  had  contributed  to  impeach  the 
memory  of  Crefap,  by  handing  on  an  erroneous  charge, 
it  was  proper  it  fhould  be  made  the  vehicle  of  retribution. 
Not  that  I  was  at  all  the  author  of  the  injury.     1  had  on- 

D 


(     3°    ) 

ly  concurred,  \\ith  thoufands  and  thoufands  of  others, 
ill  believing  a  tranfaib'on  on  authority  wliich  merited  re- 
i'ped.  For  the  ftory  of  Logan  is  only  repeated  in  the 
Notes  on  Virginia,  precifely  as  it  had  been  current  for  more 
than  a  dozen  years  before  they  were  pubhfhed.  When 
Lord  Dunniore  returned  from  the  expedition  againft  the 
Jndians,  in  1774,  he  and  his  officers  brought  the  fpeech 
of  Logan,  and  related  the  circumftances  connected  with 
it,  Thefe  were  fo  affecting,  and  the  fpeech  itfelf  fo  fine  a 
morfel  oi  eloquence,  that  it  became  the  theme  of  every 
converfation,  in  Williarafburg  particularly,  and  generally, 
indeed,  wherefoever  any  of  the  officers  refided  or  reforted. 
I  learned  it  in  Williamiburg  ;  I  believe  at  Lord  Dunmore's 
and  I  find  in  my  pocket-book  of  that  year  (1774)  an  en- 
try of  the  narrative,  as  taken  from  the  mouth  ot  fonie  per- 
fon,  whofe  name,  however,  is  not  noted,  nor  recolleded, 
precifely  in  the  words  dated  in  the  Notes  on  Virginia. 
The  fpeech  was  publifhed  in  the  Virginia  Gazette  of  that 
time  (I  have  it  myfelf  in  the  volume  of  gazettes  of  that 
year)  and  though  in  a  (lyle  by  no  means  elegant,  yet  it 
vas  fo  admired,  that  it  flew  through  all  the  public  papers 
of  the  continent,  and  through  the  magazines  and  other 
periodical  publications  of  Great  Britain  ;  and  thofe  who 
were  boys  at  that  day  Vv'ill  now  atteft,  that  the  i'peech  of 
Logan  ufed  to  be  given  them  as  a  fchool  exercife  for  repe- 
tition. It  was  not  till  about  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  after 
the  newfpapcr  publications,  that  the  Notes  on  Virginia 
were  publiflied  in  America.  Combating,  in  thefe,  the 
contumelious  theory  of  certain  European  writers,  whofe 
celebrity  gave  currency  and  weight  to  their  opinions, 
that  our  country,  from»the  combined  effects  of  foil  and 
climate,  degenerated  aiiimal  nature,  in  the  general,  an4 
particularly  the  moral  faculties  of  man,  I  confidered  the 
ipeech  of  Logan  as  an  apt  proof  of  the  contrary,  and  ufed 
jtasfuch  ;  and  I  copied,  verbatim,  the  narrative  I  had  ta- 
ken  down  in  1774,  and  the  fpeech  as  it  had  been  given  us 
in  abetter  tranflation  by  lord  Dunmore.  1  knew  nothing 
oj  the  Crefp.ps,  and  could  not  poffibly  have  a  motive  to 
do  them  an  injury  with  defign.  I  repeated  what  thou- 
iands  had  done  before,  on  as  good  authority  as  we  have 
for  mcfl  of  the  facts  we  learn  through  lile,  and  luch  as, 
to  this  moincnt.  I  have  feen  no  reafon  to  doubt.     That 


(     3-     ) 

\^  any  body  qiieflioned  it,  was  never  fufpecicJ  by  me,  till  I 
faw  the  letter  of  Mr.  Martin  in  the.  Bakiaiore  paper. 
I  endeavoured  then  to  recoiled  who  among  my  cotempo- 
raries,  of  the  fame  circle  of  fociety,  and  conlcqucntly  cf 
the  fame  recollections,  might  Itill  be  alive.  Three  and 
twenty  years  of  death  and  difperfion  had  left  vc.  y  few. 
I  remembered,  however,  that  general  Gibfon  was  Rill 
livincr,  and  knew  that  he  had  been  the  tranflator  of  the 
fpeech.  I  wrote  to  him  immediately.  He,  m  anfwer, 
declares  to  me,  that  he  was  the  very  perfon  fent  by  lord 
Dunmorc  to  the  Indian  town  ;  that,  after  he  had  deliver, 
ed  his  meflage  tlKre,  I.ogan  took  him  out  to  a  neigh- 
bouring wood  ;  fat  down  with  him,  i.nd  rehearfing, 
with  tears,  the  cataflrophe  of  his  family,  gave  him  that 
fpeech  for  lord  Danmore  ;  that  he  carried  it  to  lord 
Dunmore  ;  tranflated  it  for  him;  has  turned  to  it  in  the 
Encyclopedia,  as  taken  from  the  Notes  on  Virginia,  and 
finds  that  it  was  his  tranllation  I  had  ufed,  with  only  two 
or  three  verbal  V2.riations  of  no  importance.  Thefe,  I 
fuppofe,  had  avifen  in  tlie  courfe  of  fuccellive  copies.  I 
cite  general  Gibfon's  letter  by  memory,  not  having  it 
with  me  ;  but  I  am  fure  I  cite  it  fubftantially  right.  It 
eftabliihes  unqueilionably,  that  the  fpeech  of  Logan  is 
genuine  ;  and  that  being  ellabliflied,  it  is  Logan  himfelf 
who  is  author  of  all  the  important  facls. 

"  Colonel  Crefap,  fays  he,  in  cold  blood  and  unpro- 
"  voked,  murdered  all  the  relations  of  Logan,  not  fparing 
"  even  my  women  and  children.  There  runs  not  a  drop 
"  of  my  blood  in  the  veins  of  any  living  creature.'*  The 
perfon  and  the  faft,  in  all  its  material  circumflances,  are 
here  given  by  Logan  himfelf.  General  Gibfon,  indeed, 
fays,  that  the  title  was  miilaken  ;  that  Crefap  was  a  cap- 
tain, and  not  a  colonel.  This  was  Login's  miftake. 
He  alfo  obferves,  that  it  was  on  the  Ohio,  and  not  on  thd 
Kanhaway  itfelf,  that  his  family  was- killed.  This  is  aix 
error  which  has  crept  into  the  traditionary  account ;  but 
iiircly  of  little  moment  in  the  moral  view  of  the  iubjcct. 
The  material  queftion  is  ;  was  Logan's  family  murdered, 
and  by  whom  i*  That  it  was  murdered  has  not,  I  believe, 
l)een  denied  ;  that  it  was  by  one  of  the  Crefaps,  Logan 
affirms.  This  is  a  queftion  v.-hich  concerns  the  memories, 
of  Logan  and  Crefap  j  to  the   ilTue  of  which  1  am  as  in- 


(     32     ) 

dIfFerent  as  if  I  had  never  heard  the  name  of  either.  I  have 
begun  and  (hall  continue  to  enquire  into  the  evidence  ad- 
ditional to  Logan*s,  on  vt-hich  the  fatt  was  founded. 
Little,  indeed,  can  now  be  heard  of,  and  that  little  dif- 
perfed  and  diftant.  If  it  fhall  appear  on  enquiry,  that  Lo- 
gan has  been  wrong  in  charging  Crefap  with  the  murder  of 
his  family,  I  will  do  juftice  to  the  memory  of  Crefap,  as 
far  as  I  have  contributed  to  the  injury,  by  believing  and 
repeating  what  others  had  believed  and  repeated  before 
me.  If,  on  the  other  hand,  I  find  that  Logan  was  right 
in  his  charge,  I  will  vindicate,  as  far  as  my  fufFrage 
may  go,  the  truth  of  a  Chief,  whofe  talents  and  misfor- 
tunes have  attached  to  him  the  refpedl  and  commiferation 
of  the  world. 

I  have  gone,  my  dear  Sir,  into  this  lengthy  detail  to  fa- 
tisfy  a  mind,  in  the  candour  and  reditude  of  which  I  have 
the  higheft  confidence.  So  far  as  you  may  incline  to  ufe 
the  communication  for  rectifying  the  judgments  of  thofe 
who  are  willing  to  fee  things  truly  as  they  are,  you  are 
free  to  ufe  it.  But  I  pray  that  no  confidence  which  you 
may  repofe  in  any  one,  may  induce  you  to  let  it  go  out 
of  your  hands,  fo  as  to  get  into  a  newfpaper.  Againfl:  a 
conteft  in  that  field  I  am  entirely  decided.  I  feel  extraor- 
dinary gratification,  indeed,  in  addreffing  this  letrer  to 
you,  with  whom  fhades  of  difference  in  pohtical  fentiment 
have  not  prevented  the  interchange  of  good  opinion,  nor 
cut  off  the  friendly  offices  of  fociety  and  good  correfpond- 
ence.  This  political  tolerance  is  the  more  valued  by  me, 
who  confider  focial  harmony  as  the  firft  of  human  felici- 
ties, and  the  happieft  moments,  thofe  which  are  given  to 
the  effufions  of  the  heart.  Accept  them  fincerely,  I  pray 
you,  from  one  who  has  the  honour  to  be,  with  fentiment* 
of  high  refped:  and  attachment. 

Dear  Sir, 

7  'our  moji  obedient 

/Uid  mojl  humble fervani, 

TH.  JEFFERSON. 


(     33     ) 

THE  Notes  on  Virginia  were  written  in  Virginia,  in  the  vears 
I  731  and  1782,  in  anlwer  to  certain  queries  projioicd  to  inc  by  IV.'onf. 
He  Marbois,  then  fccrctary  of  the  hrencli  legation  in  ihc  L'nited  States : 
and  a  manuicript  copy  was  delivered  to  him.  .A  few  copies  with  Ibme 
adJitions,  were  alicrwards,  in  i7°4,  printed  in  Paris,  and  given  to 
particular  friends.  In  fpeaking  ol  the  animals  of  America,  the  '.hco- 
ry  of  M.  de  liuti'on,  the  Abbe  Kavnal  anil  otlirrs,  prt-fented  itfclf  to 
conlideralioii.  fhey  have  fiippofeu  that  there  is  Ibmeihing  in  the  foil, 
climate  and  other  circumltances  oiAinciica,  which  oci^alions  animal 
nature  to  degenerate,  not  excepting  even  the  man,  native  or  adoptive, 
phyltcal  or  moral.  This  theory,  fo  unfounded  and  degrading  to  one 
third  of  the  globe,  was  called  to  the  bar  of  f:i(5t  and  rcalbn.  An.onj; 
other  proofb  adduced  in  coniradiclion  of  this  hvpothefis,  the  fpeech  oi 
Logan,  an  Indian  cnief,  delivered  to  Lovd  Dunmore  in  1774,  was  pro- 
duced as  a  fpecimen  of  the  talents  of  the  aboriginals  of  this  country, 
and  particularly  of  their  eloq'ience  ;  and  it  was  believed  that  Kurope 
had  never  produced  aviv  thing  lliperior  to  this  morfel  ct  eloquence,  in 
order  to  make  it  intelligible  to  the  reader,  the  tiaiifaiftion  on  which  it 
was  founded,  was  (Uted  as  it  had  generally  been  related  in  America  at 
the  time,  and  as  I  had  heard  it  mylelf,  in  the  circle  of  1-ord  Dunmore, 
and  the  officers  who  accompanied  him  :  and  the  fpeech  itfelf  was 
given  as  it  had,  ten  years  before  the  printing  of  that  book;  circulated 
in  the  newfpapers  through  all  the  then  colonies,  through  the  magj.zines 
of  Great  Britain,  and  periodical  publications  of  Europe.  For  three  and 
twenty  years  it  paflcd  uncontradi<ited  :  nor  was  it  ever  fulpefted  that 
it  even  admitted  contradiction.  In  1797  however,  for  the  firft  time, 
not  only  the  whole  tranfad;ion  refpeding  Logan  was  aflinned  in  the 
public  papers  to  be  falfe,  but  the  fpeech  iifelf  fuggeiled  to  be  a  forgery, 
and  even  a  forgery  of  mine,  to  aid  me  in  proving  that  the  man  of  Ame- 
rica was  equal  in  body  and  in  inind  to  the  man  of  Europe.  But  where, 
fore  the  forgery  ?  Whether  Logan's  or  mine,  it  would  (fill  have  been 
American.  I  fhould  indeed  confult  my  own  fame  if  the  fug^'effion,  that 
this  fpeech  is  mine,  were  fufFered  to  be  believed.  He  would  have  a 
jufl  right  to  be  proud  who  could  with  truth  claim  that  compofition  :  but 
it  is  none  of  mine,  and  I  yield  it  to  whom  it  is  due. 

On  feeing  then  that  this  tranfaftion  was  brought  into  queftion,  I 
thought  it  my  duty  to  make  particular  enquiry  into  its  foundation.  It 
was  the  more  my  duty,  as  ic  was  alledgcd  that,  by  afcribing  to  an  in- 
dividual therein  named,  a  participation  in  the  murder  of  Logan's  fami- 
ly, I  had  done  an  injury  to  his  character,  which  it  had  not  deferved. 
1  had  no  knowledge,  perfonally  of  that  individual.  I  had  no  reafon  to 
aim  an  injury  at  him.  I  only  repeated  what  I  had  heard  from  others, 
and  what  thoufands  had  heard  and  believed  as  well  as  myfelf  ;  and 
which  no  one  indeed,  till  then  had  been  known  to  queiVicn.  Twenty- 
three  yer.rs  had  now  elapfed,  ftnce  the  tranfadtion  took  place.  Many 
of  thofe  acquainted  with  it  were  dead,  and  the  living  difperfed  to  very 
didant  parts  of  the  earth.  Few  of  them  were  even  known  t»  me.  To 
thofe  however  of  whom  I  knew,  I  made  application  by  letter  ;  and 
fome  otiiers,  moved  by  a  regard  fo"  truth  and  juftice,  were  kind  enough 
to  come  forward,  of  themfelves  with  their  telfin.ony  Thefe  fragmenis 
of  evidence,  thefinall  remains  of  a  mighty  mafs  which  time  has  confum- 
ed,  are  here  preft-nted  to  the  public,  in  the  fo.m  of  letters,  certificates 
cr  affidavits,  as  tney  came  to  me.     I  have  rejetfted  none  of  thefe  forjis, 

E 


(     34     ) 

nor  required  other  folemnities  from  thofe  whofe  motives  and  charadlers 
were  pledges  of  their  truth.  Kiftorical  tranfadtions  are  deemed  to  be 
well  vouched  by  the  fimjile  declarations  of  thofe  who  have  borne  a  part 
in  them  ;  and  efpecially  of  perfons  having  no  intered  to  falfify  or  disfi_ 
gure  them.  The  world  will  now  fee  whether  they  or  I,  have  injured 
Crefap,  by  believing  Logan's  charge  againfl:  him;  and  they  will  decide 
between  Logan  and  Crefap,  whether  Crefap  was  innocent,  andLogan 
a  calumniator  ? 

In  order  that  the  reader  may  have  a  clear  conception  of  the  tranfafti- 
ons,  to  which  the  different  parts  of  the  following  declarations  refer, 
he  mvil  take  notice  that  they  eftablifh  four  ditfercnt  murders,  i.  Of 
two  Indians  a  little  above  Wheeling.  2.  Of  others  at  Grave  Creek, 
among  whom  were  fome  of  Logan's  relations.  3.  The  maflacre  at 
Baker's  Bottom,  on  the  Ohio,  oppofite  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Creek, 
where  were  other  relations  of  Logan.  /\.  Of  thofe  killed  at  the  fame 
place,  coming  in  canoes  to  the  relief  oF  their  friends.  1  place  the 
numbers  i,  2,  3,  4,  againft  certain  paragraphs  of  the  evidence,  to  in- 
dicate the  particular  murder  to  which  the  paragraph  relates,  and  prc- 
fent  alfo  a  fmall  ftetch  or  map  of  the  principal  fcenes  of  thefe  butche- 
ries, for  their  more  ready  comprehenfion. 


Exira^  of  a  letter  from  the  honourable  Judge  Inn  es  of  Frank- 
fort in  Kentucky  to  Tpiomas  Jefferson;  dated  Kentucky, 
near  Frankfort^  March  2d,   1799. 

I  RECOLLECT  to  have  feen  Logan's  fpeech  in  1775,  in  one  of  the 
public  prints.  That  Logan  conceived  Crefap  to  be  the  author  of  the 
murder  at  Yellow  Creek,  it  is  in  my  power  to  give,  perhaps,  a  more 
particular  information,  than  any  other  perfon  you  can  apply  to. 

In  1774  I  lived  in  Fincallle  county,  now  divided  into  VVafhington, 
Montgomery  and  part  of  Wythe.  Being  intimate  in  Col.  Prefton's  family 
I  happened  in  July  to  be  at  his  houfc,  when  an  exprefs  was  fent  to  him 
as  the  County  Lieutenant,  requefting  a  guard  of  the  militia  to  be  or. 
dered  out  for  the  proteftion  of  the  inhabitants  refiding  low  down  on 
the  norv'ii  fork  of  Holilon  river.  The  cxprefs  brought  with  him  a  War 
Club,  «:id  i\  note  which  was  left  tied  to  it  at  the  houfe  of  one  Robertfon, 
whofe  iamily  were  cut  off  by  the  Indians,  and  gave  rife  for  the  applica- 
tion to  Colonel  Preiion,  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy,  then  taken 
\y<i  me  in  my  memorandum  book. 

"  Captain  Cresap, 

"  What  did  you  kill  my  people  on  Yellow-creek  for  ?  The  white 
*'  people  killed  my  kin  at  Coneftoga,  a  great  while  ago;  and  I  thought 
'f  nothing  of  that.  But  you  killed  my  kin  again  on  Yellow-creek,  and 
*^  tookmy  coufinprifoner.  Then  I  thought  1  mult  kill  too  ;  and  I  have 
<<  been  three  times  to  war  fmce  ;  but  the  Indians  are  not  angry  :  only 
<'  myfelf." 

Capt.  JOHN  LOGAN. 
July  21ft,   1774. 

With  Great  Relpeft,  I  am,  Dear  Sir, 
Your  molt  obedient  fervant, 

HAllll  Y   INN  ES 


(     35 
alleghl:ny  county,  fs. 

STATE  OK  l'£NNSYLVANJA, 

Before  me  the  UrDftiilier,  a  jnftice  of  tlie  peace  in  and  for  falJ  coiinrr 
perfonallv  appeared  [ohn  GiGfou,  clqiiiie,  iin  uflociate  judge  of  faoic 
county,  who  being  duly  fworn,  depofttK  and  f;iiiliihai  lie  iiadtd  witli 
the  Slvawnefe  and  oiher  tribes  of  Indians  then  fettled  on  tlic  btioto  in 
the  year  177:;,  and  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1774,  and  that  in  the 
month  of  April  of  the  lame  year,  lie  leJt  tlie  fame  Indian  towns,  and 
ca»ne  to  this  place,  in  order  to  procure  fome  goods  and  pro\  ilions.  that 
lie  remained  here  only  a  few  days,  and  then  let  out  in  company  with  a 
certain  Alexander  Blaine,  and  M,  Klliot  by  water  to  return  to  the 
towns  on  Sciota,  and  that  one  evening  as  they  were  drifting  in  thcir 
canoes  near  the  Lowg  Reach  on  the  Ohio,  they  were  hailed  Hy  a  num- 
ber of  white  men  on  the  S.W.  lliore,who  requeued  them  to  put  afliore, 
as  they  had  difagreeable  news  to  inform  them  of;  that  we  then  landed 
on  ftiore,  and  found  amongll  the  party,  a  Major  Angus  M'Donald  from 
Welt  Cheder,  a  Doiftor  Woods  trom  fame  place,  and  a  party  as  they 
faid  of  t  50  men.  We  then  alkcd  the  news.  T  liey  Informed  us  that 
fome  of  the  party  who  had  been  taken  up,  and  improving  lands  near 
the  BigKanhaway  River,  had  ieen  another  party  of  white  men,  who 
informed  them  that  they  and  fome  others  had  fell  in  with  a  party  of 
Shawnefe,  who  had  been  hunting  on  the  fouth-welt  lidc  of  the  Ohio, 
that  they  had  killed  the  whole  of  the  Indian  party,  and  that  the  others 
had  gone  acrofs  the  country  to  Cheat  River  with  the  horfes  and  plun- 
der, the  confequence  of  which  they  apprehended,  would  be  an  Indian 
war,  and  that  they  were  flying  away.  On  making  enquiry  of  them  wheil 
this  murder  fliould  have  happened,  we  found  that  it  muft  have  been 
fome  conliderable  time  before  we  left  the  Indian  towns,  and  that  there 
was  not  the  fmalled  foundation  for  the  report,  as  there  was  not  a  fin^Je 
man  of  the  Shawnefe,  but  what  returned  from  hunting  long  before  this 
/liould  have  haj-'pened. 

We  then  informed  them  that  if  they  would  agree  to  remain  at  the 
place  we  then  were,  one  of  us  would  go  to  Hock  Hocking  river  with 
I'ome  of  their  party,  where  we  Ihould  find  fotne  ol  our  people  making 
canoes,  and  that  it  we  did  not  find  them  there,  we  might  conclude  tbac 
every  thing  was  not  right.  Doilor  Wood  and  another  perfon  then  pro- 
pofed  going  with  me  ;  the  reft  of  the  party  feemed  to  agree,  but  faid 
they  would  fend  and  conliilt  captain  Crefap,  who  was  about  two  miles 
trom  that  place.  They  fent  otf"  for  him.  and  during  the  greatell:  part: 
of  the  night  they  behaved  in  the  mod  diforderly  manner,  threatening 
to  kill  us,  and  faying  the  damned  traders  were  worfe  than  the  Indians 
and  ought  to  be  killed.  In  the  morning  captain  Michael  Crefap  came 
to  the  camp.  I  then  gave  him  the  information  as  above  related.  They 
then  met  in  council,  and  after  an  hour  or  more  capt.  Crefap  returned  to 
me  and  informed  that  he  could  not  prevail  on  them  to  adopt  the  pi  opo- 
lal  I  had  made  to  them,  that  as  he  had  a  great  regard  for  captain  R. 
Callender,  a  brother-in-law  of  mine  with  whom  1  was  connei^cd  in 
trade,  he  advitcd  me  by  no  means  to  think  of  proceeiling  any  further, 
as  he  was  convinced  the  prclcnt  party  would  fall  on  and  kill  ever_\  Indi- 
an they  met  on  the  river,  that  for  his  part  he  fhould  not  continue  with 
them,  but  go  right  acrofs  the  country  to  RedQone  to  axoid  the  confe- 
quences.  That  we  then  proceeded  to  Hocking  and  went  up  the  i'an)e  to 
tfac  canos  place,  where  we  founJ  our  people  :it  work;  and  aiici  fonii; 


(    36    ) 

days  we  proceeded  to  the  towns  on  Scioto  by  land.  On  our  arrival 
there,  we  heard  of  the  different  murders  committed  by  the  party  on 
their  way  up  the  Ohio. 

This  deponent  further  faith  that  in  the  year  1774,  he  accompanied 
lord  Dunmore  on  the  expedition  againfl  tiie  Shawnefe  and  other  Indians 
on  the  Scioto,  that  on  their  arrival  withisi  fifteen  miles  of  the  towns, 
they  were  met  by  a  flag  and  a  white  man  by  the  name  of  Elliot,  who 
informed  lord  Diinmoie  that  the  chiefs  of  the  Shawnefe  had  fent  to  rc- 
quelUiis  lordlhip  to  halt  iis  army  and  fend  in  fome  perfon,  whounder- 
llood  their  lansruage  ;  that  this  deponent  at  the  r<'que{t  of  lord  Dun- 
more  and  the  whole  of  the  officers  with  him  went  in  ;  that  on  his  ar- 
rival at  the  towns,  Logan  the  Indian,  came  to  where  this  deponent 
was  fitting  with  the  Corn  ftalk,  and  the  other  chiefs  of  the  Shawnefe, 
•and  allied  him  to  vvalk  out  with  him  ;  that  they  went  into  a  copfe  of 
wood,  where  they  fat  down,  when  Logan,  after  fhedding  abundance 
of  tears,  delivered  10  him  the  fpeech,  nearly  as  related  by  Mr.  Jeffer- 
fon,  in  his  notes  on  the  (tare  uf  Virginia  ;  that  he  the  deponent  told 
him  then  that  it  was  not  colonel  Crefap  who  had  murdered  his  relations 
and  that  although  his  f;)n  captain  Michael  Crefap,  was  with  the  party 
who  had  killed  a  Shawnele  chief  and  other  Tnrtians  yet  he  was  not 
prefent  when  his  relations  were  killed  at  Bakers,  near  the  mouth  of 
Vtllow  creek  on  the  Ohio  ;  that  this  deponent  on  his  ret'-rn  to  camp 
delivered  the  fpeech  to  lord  Dunmore  ;  and  t'lat  the  murders  perpe- 
trated as  above  were  confidered  as  ultimately  the  caufe  of  the  war  of 
1774,  commonly  called  Crefap's  war. 

Sworn  and  fubfcribed  the  4th  day  ot  April,  )     Ti^TTvi  r^Tncr^-^r 
1800,  at  Pittfburgh,  before  me,  <     JOHN  GIBSON. 

Jer.  Barker,  j 


ExtraSl  of  a  letter  from  colonel  Eben.  Zane,  io  the  honourable 
JoHiiJ  BxofVN,  one  of  the  fenators  in  congrefs  from  Kentucky  ; 
dated  Wheelings  February  4th  1 800. 

I  was  myfelf,  with  many  others,  in  the  praftice  of  making  improve- 
ments on  lands  upon  the  Ohio,  for  the  purpofe  of  acquit  ing  rights  to 
the  fame.  Being  on  the  Ohio  at  the  mouth  of  ^andy  creek,  in  compa^ 
ny  with  many  otiiers,  news  circulated  that  the  Indians  had  robbed  fome 

of  the  land  jobbers.  This  news  induced  the  people  generally  to 
I.      afcend  the  Ohio.     I  was  among  the  number.      On  our  arriv?!   at 

the  Wheeling,  being  informed  that  there  were  two  Indians  with 
fotne  traders  near  and  above  Wheeling,  a  propofition  was  made  by  tlie 
then  captain  Michael  Crefap,  to  way  lay  and  kill  the  Indians  upon  the 
river.  Tliis  meafurc  I  oppofed  with  much  violence,  alledging  that  the 
killing  of  thofc  Indians  mi«»ht  involve  the  country  in  a  war.  But  the 
oppafue  party  prevailed  ami  proceeded  up  the  Ohio  with  captain  Cre- 
fap at  their  head. 

In  a  fliort  time  the  party  returned,  and  alfo  the  traders,  in  a  canoe; 
but  there  were  no  Indians  in  the  company,  I  eno^uired  what  had  be- 
come of  the  Indians,  and  was  informed  by  the  traders  and  Crefap's 
party  that  they  had  fallen  overboard.     1  examined  the  canoe,  aud  law 


(    37     ) 

much  frff(h  blood  and  fome  bullet  holes  in  the  canor.  This  fully  con- 
vinced me  that  the  party  had  killed  two  Indians,  and  thrown  thenl 
into  the  river. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  day  this  at^iion  hajipen^d,  areportprc" 

2  vailed  that  tlu-re  was  a  camp,  or  party  of  Indians  on  the  Ohio  be- 
low  and  near  the  W'heelinn;.     In  confequcncc  of  this  information, 

capt.  Crcfap  with  his  party,  joined  by  a  number  of  recruits,  proceeded 
immediatciv  down  the  Ohio  for  the  purpofe,  as  was  then  generally  un- 
derliood,  of  dellroyina  the  Indians  above  mentioned.  On  the  fiK teed ing 
day,  captain  Crcfip  and  his  party  returned  to  Wlierling,  and  it  was 
generally  reported  by  the  party  that  ihey  had  killed  a  number  of  In- 
dians. Of  the  truth  of  this  report  1  had  no  doubt,  as  one  of  Crefap's 
party  was  badly  wounded,  and  the  party  had  a  frefli  fcalp,  and  a  quan- 
tity of  property,  wliich  they  called  Intlian  plunder.  Atthc  time  ofthe 
la(i  mentioned  tranfaftion,  it  was  generally  reported  that  the  party 
of  Indians  down  the  Ohio  were  Logan  and  his  family  ;  but  I  have  rea- 
fon  to  believe  that  this  report  was  unfounded. 

Within  a  few  davs  after  the  tranfaftion  above  mentioned,  a  party 

3  of  Indians  were  killed  at  Yellow  Creek.     But  I  mult  do  the  memo- 
ry of  captain  Crefap  the  juftice  ro  fay  that  I  do  not  believe  that  he 

was  prefent  at  the  killing  of  the  Indians  at  Yellow  Creek,  but  there 
is  not  the  leatl  doubt  in  my  miad,  that  the  mafi'acre  at  Yellow  Creek 
■was  brought  on  by  the  two  tranfatflions  firfl  (fated. 

All  the  tranfa<flions,  which  1  have  related  happened  in  the  latter  end 
of  April  1774  :  and  there  can  fcarcely  be  a  doubi  that  they  were  the 
caufe  of  the  war  which  immediately  followed,  commonly  called  Dun- 
more's  War. 

I  am  with  much  Efteem, 
Yours,  See. 

EBENEZER  ZANE. 


The  certificate  of  Wi\\\2.va.  Hufton  of  Wafmngton  county,  in. 
the  Jiate  of  Pennfylvania,  communicated  by  David  Riddick, 
Efquire,  Frothonotary  of  Wajhington  county,  Pennfylvania  ; 
who  in  the  letter  incloftng  it  fays  "  Mr.  William  Hufton  is  a 
man  of  ejlablijhed  reputation  in  point  of  Integrity.** 

I  \Vm.  Huston  of  Wafhington  county,  in  the  State  of  Pennfylvania, 
do  hereby  certify  to  whom  it  may  concern,  that  in  the  year  1774.  I 
refided  at  Catfithes  camp,  on  the  main  path  from  Wheeling  to  Red- 
Itone  :  thatMicheal  Crefap,  who  relided  on  or  near  the  Totowmac 
river,  on  his  way  up  from  the  river  Ohio,  at  the  head  of  a  parly  of 
armed  men,  lay  fome  time  at  my  cabbin. 

I  had  previously  heard  the  report  of  Mr.  Crefap  having  killed 
2  fome  indians  faid  to  be  the  relations  of'  -Logan"  an  Indian  Chief. 
In  a  variety  of  converfations  with  fever;  !  of  Crcfap's  party,  they 
boafled  of  the  deed  ;  and  that  in  the  prefencc  of  their  chief.  They  ac- 
knowledged they  had  fired  firft  on  the  India  is.  They  had  with  them 
one  man  on  a  litter,  who  was  in  the  flcermifll. 

I  do  further  certify  that,  from  what  I  hav  fe  learned  from  the  party 
thcmfelvesj  I  then  formed  the  opinion,  and  b)avc  not  had  any  reafou  to 

V 


(    3«    ) 

change  llie  opinion  fince,  that  the  killing,  on  the  part  of  the  whites, 
5      was  what  I  deem  the  gvofled  murder.     1  further  certify,  that  fome 

of  the  party,  who  afterwards  Villed  fotne  women  and  other  indi- 
ans  at  Baker's  Bottom,  alfo  lay  at  my  cahbin,  on  their  march  to  the 
interior  part  of  the  country  ;  they  had  with  them  a  little  girl,  whofe 
life  had  been  fpared  by  the  interference  of  fome  more  humane  than  the 
reft.  Ifneceflary  I  will  make  affidavit  to  the  above  to  be  true.  Certi- 
fied at  VVafhington,  this  i8th  day  of  April,  Anno  Domini,   i  79S. 

WILLIAM  HUSTON. 

The  certificate  of  ]?i<:oh^t\N\2.ndi J  of  Shelby  County,  Kentucky, 
communicated  by  the  honorable  Judge  Innes,  of  Kentucky, 

In  the  year  1774,  I  lived  on  the  waters  of  Short  Creek,  a  branch  of 
the  Ohio,  12  miles  above  Wheeling.  Sometime  in  June  or  July  of 
that  year,  capt.  Michael  Crefap,  raifed  a  party  of  men,  and  came  out 
under  col.  M-Daniel,  of  HampQiire  county,  Virginia,  who  command- 
ed a  detachment  againft  the  Wappotommaka  towns  on  the  Muflcinghum. 
J  met  with  capt,  Crefap,  at  Redftone  fort,  and  entered  his  company. 
Being  very  well  acquainted  with  him,  we  converfed  freely  ;  and  he, 
among  other  converfations,  informed  me  feveral  times  of  falling  in 

2  with  fome  indians  on   the  Ohio,  fome  diftance  below  the  mouth  of 
Yellow  Creek,  and    killed    two    or  three    of  them  ;  and    that  this 

3  murder  was  before  that  of  the   Indians  by  Great-house  and  others, 
at  Yellow  Creek.     I  do  not  recollect  tVie  reafjn  which  capt.  Crefap 

afiigned  for  comniitting  the  aft,  but  never  underftood  that  the  indians 
gave  any  offence.  Certified  under  my  hand  this  15th  day  of  November 
1799,  being  an  inhabitant  of  Shelby  coanty,  and  State  of  Kentucky. 

JACOB  NEWLAND.      . 

The  certificate  of  John  Anderfon,  a  merchant  in  Fredericks' 
burg,  Virginia  ;  communicated  by  Mann  Page,  Efq.  of  Mans- 
Jield,  near  Fredericksburg,  iL^ho,  in  the  letter  accompanying 
it,  fays,  "  Mr.  John  Anderfon  has  for  many  years  paji  been 
fettled  in  Frederickfburg,  in  the  merchantile  line,  I  have 
known  hi  in  profperous  and  ad-verfe  fituations.  He  has  al- 
ways fhe  m  the  greateft  degree  of  Equanimity,  his  honeffy 
and  veracity  are  unimpeachable.  Thefe  things  can  be  attejted 
by  all  the  refpeSlable  part  of  the  town  and  neighborhood  of 
Frederickfburgh. 

Mr.  John  Anderfon,  a  merchant  in  Frederickfliurg,  fays,  that  in  the 
year  1774,  beinga  trader  '^n  the  indian  country,  he  was  at  Pittlburg, 
to  which  place  he  had  a  c:  ^go  brought  up  the  river  in  a  boat  navigat- 
ed by  a  Delaware  Indian  a  d  a  white  man.  That  on  ihcir,return  down 
the  river,  with  a  car^  .j,  belonging  to  Mefl'rs  Butler,  Michael  Cre- 
X  fap  fired  on  the  boat,  /and  killed  the  indian,  after  which  two  men 
of  the  name  of  Gatcw'JDod  and  others  of  the  nawe  of  *Tuinbleftone, 
3     who  lived  on  the  oppfi  iic  lidc  of  the  river  from  the  indianSj-with  whom 

fTht p'^pular prtnuntic\thn  of  TorH!:ni0Hf  witfi  vai  tht  rttd  nsntt 


(    39     ) 

ihev  wcrr  on  the  mod  friendly  terms,  inviteil  a  party  of  tlicin  to  conic 
over  ami  drink  wiih  ilicin  ;  ami  lliat,  wlicn  llic  Indians  were  drunk, 
tlicv  murdered  ihem  to  tlic  nuniber  of  lix,  anions;  wlioin  was  Lo- 
4  Pan's  motlier.  That  live  other  indians  uneaiy  at  the  abfemc  of 
their  friends,  came  over  the  river  to  enquire  after  them  ;  when 
they  were  fired  upon,  and  two  wtrc  killed,  and  the  others  wounded. 
Tills  was  the  origin  of  the  war. 

1  certify  the  above  to  be  true  to  the  belt  of  my  recolltction. 

JOHN  ANDLllSON. 
Attell.— DAVID  BLAIR,  June  30th  1798. 


The  Depcfitlon  of  James  Chambers,  communicated  by  David 
RiJdick,  F/q.  Prothonotary  of  WofJyingto7i  Cowity,  PennfyU 
vafiia,  who,  in  the  letter  cnclqfing  it  Jhews  that  he  entertaini 
the  mojl perfect  confidence  in  the  truth  of  Mr.  Chambers. 

W Mh'mgt<jn  County,  fc. 

Perfonally  came  before  me  Samuel  Shannon,  efq.  one  of  the  Com- 
monwealth jullices  for  the  covmty  of  W'afliington,  in  the  Hate  of  Penn- 
fylvania,  jaines  Chambers,  who  being fworn  according  to  law,  depof- 
cth  and  faith  that  in  the  fpring  of  the  year  1774.  ^^^  lelided  on  the 
frontiers  near  Baker's  bottom  on  the  Ohio  :  tliat  he  had  an  intimate 
companion,  with  wliom  he  fomctimes  lived,  named  'Edward  King:'* 

2  That  a  report  reached  him   that  Michael  Crefap   had  killed  fume 
indians  near  Grave  Creek,  friends  to  an  jndian,  known  by  the  name 

3  of  "  Logan  :"  That  other  of  his  friends,  following  down  the  river, 
having  received  iirtelligence,  and  fearing    to  proceed,  left   Crefap 

might  fall  in  with  them,  encamped  near  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Creek, 
oppofite  Baker's  bottom  ;  that  Daniel  Great-houle  had  dctermintd  to 
kill  them;  had  made  the  lecret  known  to  the  deponent's  companion. 
King  ;  that  the  deponent  was  earneftly  folicited  to  be  of  the  party,  and 
as  an  inducement,  was  told  that  they  would  get  a  great  deal  of  plun- 
der ;  and  further  that  the  Indians  would  be  made  drunk  by  Baker,  and 
that  little  danger  would  follow  the  expedition.  The  deponent  refnfed 
to  have  any  hand  in  killing  unoffending  people.  His  companion,  King, 
went  with  Great-houfe,  with  divers  others,  fome  of  whom  had  been 
colletfted  at  a  confiderable  diftance  under  an  idea  that  Jollma  Baker's 
family  was  in  danger  from  the  Indians,  as  war  had  been  conniienced 
between  Crefap  and  them  already,  that  Edward  King  as  well  as  others 
of  the  party,  did  not  conceal  from  the  deponent  the  molt  minute  cir- 
cumftances  of  this  affair;  they  informed  him  that  Great-houfe,  con- 
cealing his  people,  went  over  to  the  Indian  encampments  and  counted 
their  number,  and  found  that  they  were  too  large  a  party  to  attack 
with  his  ftrength  ;  that  he  then  requefletl  Jofhua  Baker,  when  any  of 
them  came  to  his  houfe,  (which  they  had  been  in  the  habit  of,)  to  give 
them  what  rum  they  could  drink,  and  to  let  him  know  when  they 
were  in  a  proper  train,  and  that  he  would  then  fall  on  them  ;  that  ac» 
cordingly  they  found  feveral  men  and  women  at  Baker's  houfe  ;  that 
one  of  ihefe  women  had  cautioned  Great-houfe,  when  over  in  the  Indi- 
an camp,  that  he  had   better  return  home,  as  the  Ind;aii  men  wcic 

F  2 


(     40     ) 

drinking,  and  that  having  heard  of  Crefap's  attack  on  th-ir  relatiorft 
down  the  river,  they  were  angry,  and,  in  a  friendly  manner  told  him 
to  go  home.  Great-houfe  with  his  party  fell  on  them,  and  killed  all 
except  a  little  girl,  which  the  deponent  faw  with  the  party  after  the 

ilaughter  :  that  ihe  Indians  in  the  camp  hearing  the  firing,  manned 
4     two  canoes,  ruppoling  their  friends  at  Baker's  to  be  attacked,  as 

was  fuj.>pofed  :  the  party  under  Great  houfe  prevented  their  land- 
ing, by  a  well  direfted  fire,  which  did  execution  in  the  canoes  :  that 
Edward  King  Hiewed  the  deponent  one  of  the  fcalps.  The  deponent 
further  faith,  that  the  fettlements  near  the  river  broke  up,  and  he  the 
deponent  immediately  repaired  to  Catfifh's  camp,  and  lived  fome  time 
with  Mr.  William  Hufton ;  that  not  long  after  his  arrival,  Crefap, 
•with  his  party  returning  from  the  Ohio,  came  to   Mr.  Hufton's  and 

tarried  fome  time;  that  in  various  converfalions  with  the  party, 
a     and  in  particular  with  a  Mr.  Smith,  who  had  one  arm  only,  he  was 

told  that  the  Indians  were  acknowledged  and  known  to  be  Logan's 
friends  "which  they  had  killed,  and  that  he  heard  the  party  fay,  that 
Logan  v/ould  probably  avenge  their  deaths. 

They  acknowledged  that  the  Indians  pafled  Crefap's  encampment  on 

the  bank  of  the  river  in  a  peaceable  manner,  and  encamped  beluw  him  ; 

that  they  went  down  and  fired  on  the  Indians,  and  killed  feveral ;   that 

the  furvivors  flew  to  their  arms  and  fired  on  Crefap,  and  wounded 

2  one  man  whom  the  deponent  faw  carried  on  a  litter  by  the  party  ; 

3  that  the  Indians  killed  by  Crefap  were  not  only  Logan's  relations, 
but  of  the  women  killed    at  Baker's,  one  was  faid,  and  generally 

believed  to  be  Logan's  filler.  The  deponent  further  faith,  that  on  the 
relation  of  the  attack  by  Crefap  on  the  unoffending  Indians,  he  ex- 
claimed in  their  hearing,  that  it  was  an  attrocious  murder  ;  on  which 
Mr.  Smith  threatened  the  deponent  with  the  tomahawk  ;  fo  that  he 
was  obliged  to  be  cautious,  fearing  an  injury,  as  the  party  appeared 
to  have  loft,  in  a  great  degree,  fentiments  of  humanity  as  well  as  the 
efife(5ts  of  civilization.  Sworn  and  lubfcribed  at  Wafhington,  the  20lh 
day  of  April,  anno  Domini  1798. 

JAMES  CHAMBERS. 
Before  Samuel  Shajuion. 

t^ajhington  County,  fc, 

I,  David  Reddick,  prothonotary  of  the  court  of  common 
Seal,  pleas,  for  the  county  of  Wafliington,  in  the  (tate  of  Fcnnfylva- 
nia.  do  certify,  that  Samuel  Shannon,  efq,  before  whom  the 
within  affidavit  was  made,  was  at  the  time  thereof,  and  flill  isajuftice 
of  the  peace  in  and  for  the  county  of  Wafliington  aforefaid  ;  and  that 
full  credit  is  due  to  all  his  judicial  ads  as  well  in  courts  of  juflice  as 
thereout. 

In  teftimony  whereof  I  have  hereunto  fet  my  hand  and  affixed  the 
feal  of  my  office  at  Wafhington,  the  26th  day  of  April,  anno  Do« 
mini  1798.  DAVID  REDDICK. 

The  certificate  of  Charles  Polke,  of  Shelby  county^  in  Ken- 
tucky^ communicated  by  the  Hen,  Judge  bines,  of  Kentucky, 
luho,  in  the  letter  enclofing  it,  together  with  Ne-culand's  cert'iji' 
caie^  and  his  own  declaration  of  the  information  ^iven  him  by 


(     41      ) 

Bakery  fays,  *  lam  u-ell  acquainted  with  Jacob  Netvland, 
he  is  a  jiian  of  integrity.  Charles  Polke  and  Jojhua  Baker 
both  fupport  rcfpedable  characters.* 

About  ihc  latter  end  of  April  or  beginning  of  May  1774,  I  lived  on 
the  waters  of  Crofi  creek,  about  fixteen  miles  from  Jofliiiu  Baker,  who 
lived  on  the  Ohio,  ojipofite  the  nioutli  ot  Yellow  creek.     A  nuinber 
5     of  psrfons  collected  at  my  houfe,  and  proceeded  to  the  f;iid  iiakcr's 
and  murdtiC'd  fcveral  Indians,   among  whom  was  a  wonum  faid   to 
be  the  lUter  ot  the  Indian  chief,  Logan-      The  principal   leader  of  the 
party  was   IJaniel   Great  houfe.     To    the   bc(t  of  my  rccolledion  the 
cauli  which  gave  rife  to  the  murder  was,  a   general  idea  that  the  Indi- 
ans were  meditating  an  attack  on  the  frontiers.    Captain  Michael  Cre- 
lap  was  not  of  ihe  party  ;  but  I  recollect  that  fometime  betore  the  per- 
petration of  the  above  faft  it  was  currently  reported    that  captain 
2     Crefao  had  murdered  fome  Indians  on  the  Ohio,  one  or  two  fome 

dilt.\nce  below  Wheeling. 
Certified  by  me,  an  inliabitant  of  Shelby  county  and  (late  of  Kentucky, 
this  fifteenth  day  of  November,   I  799. 

CHAP.LES  POLKE. 


T^e  declaration  of  the  honourable  ]u6gelnnes,  of  Frankfort,  in 

Kentucky. 

On  the  14th  of  November,  1799,  1  accidentally  met  upon  the  road 
jofliua  Baker,  the  perfoii  reterred  to  in  the  certificate  ligned  by  I'olke, 
who  informed  me  that  the  murder  of  the  Indians  in  J774,  oppofite 
3     the  mouth  of  Yellow  creek,  was  perpetrated  at  his  houie  by  52  men, 
led  on  by  Daniel  Great. houfe  ;  that  12  men  were  killed  and  6  or  8 
wounded  ;   among  the  flain  was  a  lifter  and  other  relations  of  the  Indian 
chief,  Logan.      Baker  fays  captain  Michael  Ciefap  was  not  of  the  par- 
ty ;   that  fome  days  preceding  the  murder  at  his  houfe  two  Indians 
I      left  him  and  were  on  their  way  home  ;   that  they  fell  in  with   cap- 
tain Crefap  and  a  party  of  land  inijirovers  on  the  Ohio,  and  were 
murdered,  if  not  by  Crefap  himfelf,   with    his  approbation  ;   he  beini» 
the  leader  of  the  party,  and  that  he  had  this  information  from  Crefap. 

HARRY  INNES. 


The  declaration  of  William  Robinfon. 

William  Robinfon,  of  Clarkfburgh,  in  the  county  of  Ilarrifon,  and 
flate  of  Virginia,  fubfcriber  to  thefi;  prelents,  declares  that  he  was  in 
the  year  1774,  a  rcfidenr  on  the  well  fork  of  Monongahela  river,  in 
the  county  then  called  Weft  Augufta.  and  being'Hn  his  field  on  the  12th 
of  July,  with  two  other  men,  they  were  furprifed  by  a  party  of  eight 
Indians,  who  ftiot  down  one  of  the  others,  and  made  himlelf  and  the 
remaining  one  prifoners  ;  this  fubfcriber's  wife  and  four  children  hav- 
intr  been  previoufly  conveyed  by  him  for  fafety  to  a  fort  about  24  m^le.s 
oft;  that  the  principal  Indian  of  the  party  which  took  them  was  cap- 
tain Logan;  that  Logan  fpoke  Englifh  well,  and  very  foon  manlfefted 
4  friendly  difpofition  to  this  fubfcriber,  and  told  him  to  be  of  good 


(     42     ) 

Leart,  that  he  would  not  be  killed,  but  muft  go  with  him  to  his  towrr^ 
wliere  he  would  probably  be  adopted  in  ibme  of  their  families  ;  but  a- 
bove  all  things  that  he  mult  not  attempt  to  run  away  ;  that  in  the  courfe 
of  tlie  journey  to  the  Indian  town  he  generally  endeavoured  tokeepclofe 
to  Logan,  who  had  a  great  deal  of  converfation  with  him,  always  en- 
couraging him  to  be  cheerful  and  without  fear  ;  for  that  he  would  not 
be  killed,  but  ftiould  become  one  of  them  •,  and  conftantly  imprellingon 
him  not  to  attempt  torun  away:  that  in  thefe  converfations  he  always 
charged  captain  Michael  Crefap  with  the  murder  of  his  family  ;  that  on 
his  arrival  in  the  town,  which  was  on  the  i8th  of  July,  he  was  tied  to 
a  Hake,  and  a  great  debate  arofe  whether  he  Jhould  not  be  burnt :  Lo- 
gan infiding  on  having  him  adopted,  while  others  contended  to  burn 
him:  that  at  length  Logan  prevailed,  tied  a  belt  of  wampum  round  him 
as  the  mark  of  adoption,  loofed  him  from  the  poll  and  carried  him  to 
>ihe  cabin  of  an  old  fquaw,  where  Logan  pointed  out  a  perfon  who  he 
iaid  was  this  fiibfcriber's  coufm  :  and  he  afterwards  underltood  that  the 
old  woman  was  his  aunt,  and  two  others  his  brothers,  and  that  he 
now  flood  in  the  place  of  a  warrior  of  the  family  who  had  been  killed 
at  Yellow  creek  ;  that  about  three  days  after  this  Logan  brought  him 
a  piece  of  paper  and  told  him  he  muft  write  a  letter  for  him,  which  he 
meant  to  carry  and  leave  in  fome  houfe  where  he  rtiould  kill  (omebody  , 
that  he  made  ink  with  gunpowder,  and  the  fubfcriber  proceeded  to 
write  the  letter  by  his  direftion,  addreffing  captain  Michael  Crefap  in 
k,  and  that  the  purport  of  it  was,  to  afk,  '^  why  he  had  killed  his  peo- 
ple ?  That  fome  time  before  they  had  killed  his  people  at  fome  place 
(the  name  of  which  the  fubfcriber  forgets)  which  he  had  forgiven  ; 
fcut  fince  that  he  had  killed  his  people  again  at  Yellow  creek,  and  taken 
his  coufm,  a  little  girl,  prifoner  ;  that  therefore  he  muft  war  againft 
the  whites  ;  but  that  he  would  exchange  the  fubfcriber  for  his  coufin." 
i\nd  (igned  it  with  Logan's  name,  which  letter  Logan  took  and  fet  out 
again  to  war  ;  and  the  contents  of  this  letter,  as  recited  by  the  fubfcri- 
ber, calling  to  mind  that  ftated  by  Judge  Innes  to  have  been  left,  tied 
to  a  war- club,  in  a  houfe  where  a  family  was  murdered,  and  that  being 
lead  to  the  fubfcriber,  he  recognifes  it,  and  declares  he  verily  believes 
it  to  have  been  the  identical  letter  which  he  wrote,  and  fuppofes  he 
was  miftaken  in  ftating  as  he  has  done  before  from  memory,  that  the 
otFer  of  the  exchange  was  propofed  in  the  letter;  that  it  is  probable  it 
■was  only  promifed  him  by  Logan,  but  not  put  in  the  letter ;  that  while 

lie  was  with  the  t)ld  woman,  /he  repeatedly  endeavoured  to  make 
3     liim  fenfible  that  fhe  had  been  of  the  party  at  Yellow  creek,  and  by 

figns,  fliewed  hovv  they  decoyed  her  friends  over  the  river  to  drink, 
nnd  when  they  were  reeling  and  tumbling  about,  tomahawked  them 
all,  and  that  whenever  flie  entered  on  this  fubjedJ^  ^'he  was  thrown  into 
the  molt  violent  agitations,  and  that  he  afterwards  underftood  that, 
amongft  the  Indians  killed  at  Yellow  creek,  was  a  fifter  of  Logan,  very- 
big  with  child,  whom  they  ripped  open  and  ftuck  on  a  pole  :  that  he 
continued  with  the  Indians  till  the  month  of  November,  when  he  was 
jelevifed  inconfequence  of  the  peace  made  by  them  with  Lord  Dunmore: 
that  while  he  remained  with  them,  the  Indians  in  general  were  very 
kind  tohim;  and  efpecially  thofe  who  were  his  adopted  relations  ;  but 
above  all,  the  old  woman  and  family  in  which  he  lived,  who  ferved  hira 
withe  very  thing  in  their  power,  and  never  afked  or  even  fuffcred  him 
to  do  any  labour,  feemingin  truth  to  confider  and  refpeft  him,  as  the 
friend tliey  had  loltt     AH  which  feycral  matters  and  things,  fo  tar  as 


(    43     ) 

thev  arc  dated  to  he  of  his  own  knowletlj;^,  this  fubfcriUcr  folemnly 
declares  to  be  true,  and  lo  tar  as  they  are  Hated  on  hdurmaiion  from 
others,  he  believes  ihein  to  be  true.  Given  and  declared  under  his 
hand  at  Philadelphia,  this  23lh  day  of  February,  1800. 

WILLIAM  ROBINSON. 


The  dcpofition  of  Col.  William  M'Kee,  of  Lincoln  county,  Ken- 
tucky, communicated  by  the  honourable  'John  Brown,  one  of 
the  Senators  in  Congrefs  from  Kentucky » 

Colonel  Williatn  M«Kee  of  Lincoln  county,  declarcth,  that  in  autumn 
1774,  he  commanded  as  a  captain  in  thcBotetourt  regiment  under  colo- 
nel Andrew  Lewis,  afterwards  General  Lewis  ;  and  fought  intiiebat- 
tlc  at  the  inouth  ot  Kanliaway,  on  the  loth  of  Oftober  lu  that  year.— 
That  after  the  battle  colonel  Lewis  marched  the  militia  acrofs  the  Ohio 
and  proceeded  towards  the  Shawanee  Towns  on  Scioto  ;  but  before 
they  reached  the  Towns,  lord  Dunmore  who  was  commander  in  chief 
of  the  army,  and  had  with  a  large  part  thereof,  been  up  the  Ohio  about 
Hockhocking,  when  the  battle  was  fought,  overtook  the  militia  and 
informed  them  of  his  having  fince  the  battle  concluded  a  treaty  with 
the  Indians,  upon  which  the  whole  army  returned. 

And  the  faid  William  declareth,  that  on  the  evening  of  that  day  on 
\vhich  the  jun«Elion  of  the  troops  took  place,  he  was  in  company  with 
lord  Dunmore  and  feveral  of  his  officers,  and  alfo  converfed  with  feve- 
ral  who  had  been  with  lord  Dunmore  at  the  Treaty,  faid  William  on 
tliat  evening  heard  repeated  conveifations  concerning  an  exiraordinarv 
fpeech  made  at  the  Treaty,  or  fent  there  by  a  chieftain  of  the  Indian's 
named  Logan,  and  heard  feveral  attempts  at  a  rehearfal  of  it.  The 
fpeech  as  rehearfed  excited  the  particular  attention  of  faid  William, 
and  the  mofl  ftriking  members  of  it  were  imprefled  on  his  merrorv, 

And  he  declares  that  when  Thomas  Jefferfon's  Notes  on  \'irgina 
were  publifhed,  and  he  came  to  perul'e  the  fame,  he  was  ftruck  with 
the  fpeech  of  Logan  as  there  fct  forth,  as  being  fubftantiallv  the  fime, 
and  accordant  with  the  fpeech  he  heard  rehearfed  in  the  camp  as  afore- 
faid. 

Signed,  WILLIAM  M'KEE. 

Danville,  December  i8th,  1799. 

JVe  cef'tjy  that  Colonel  William  M'Kee,  this  day  fgtied  the  or'tgiKal 
certificate^  oj  which  the  foregoing  is  a  true  apy,  in  our  pnfence. 

JAMES  SPKKD,  jun. 
J.  IL  DEWEES. 

The  certificate  of  the  hon.  Stevens  Thompfon  Mafon,  one  cf 
the  Senators  in  Congrefs,  from  the  Jiate  of  Virginia. 

*'  LO  C  J  N'S  rpeechy  delivered  at  the  Treaty,  after  the  Baill:  ir. 
•which  Colon;!  LEWIS  ivas  killed  in  1774." 


I     44     ) 

fHere  follows  a  copy  of  the  fpeech  agreeing  verbatim  with  that 
printed  in  Dixon  and  Hunter's  Virginia  Gazette  of  February  4,  177c, 
under  the  Williamfburgh  head.    At  the  foot  is  this  certificate.] 

"  The  foregoing  is  a  copy  taken  by  me,  when  a  boy  at  fchool,  in  the 
year  1775,  or  at  farthclt  in  1776,  and  lately  found  in  an  old  pocket 
book,  containing  papers  and  manufcripts  of  that  period. '^ 

STEVENS  THOMPSON  MAsON. 

January  20,   179S. 


^copyof  LOGAN'S  fpeech  given  by  the  late  Gen.  MERCERy 
who  fell  in  the  battle  of  Trenton,  January  iyy6,  to  Lewis 
Willis,  efq.  of  Frederickfburgh,  in  Virginia,  upwards  of  10 
years  ago,  (from  the  date  of  February  ijy^J  communicated 
through  Mann  Page,  efq» 

'  *'  The  SPEECH  of   LOGAN,    a   Shawanefe   chief,  to  Lord  Dun- 
more." 

\_Here  jollows  a  copy  of  the  fpeech,  agree'ujg  verbatim  with  that  in  the 
Notes  tti  Virginia.~\ 

A  copy  of  LOGAN'S  SPEECH  from  the  Notes  on  Virginia  having 
been  fent  to  Captain  Andreiv  Rogers,  of  Kentucky,  he  fubjoined  the 
following  certificate. 

In  the  year  1774  I  was  out  with  the  Virginia  Volunteers,  and  was 
in  the  battle  at  the  mouth  of  Kanhaway,  and  afterwards  proceeded 
over  the  Ohio  to  the  Indian  towns.  I  did  not  hear  Logan  make  the 
above  fpeech,  but  from  the  unanimous  accounts  of  thofe  in  camp,  I  have 
reafon  to  think  that  faid  fpeech  was  delivered  to  Dunmore.  1  remem- 
ber to  have  heard  the  very  things  contained  in  the  above  fpeech,  relat- 
ed by  fome  of  our  people  in  camp  at  that  time. 

ANDREW  RODGERS. 


The  declaratiQU  of  Mr.  John  Hecke welder,  for  feveral  years 
a  mijftonary  from  the  fociety  of  Moravians,  among  the  we/i- 
em  Indians. 

In  the  fpring  of  the  year  T774,  at  a  time  when  the  interior  part  of 
the  Indian  country  all  feemed  peace  and  tranquil,  the  villagers  on  the 
Mnfkingum  were  fuddenly  alarmed  by  two  Runners  (Indians)  who  re- 
ported "  that  the  Big  Knife  (Virginians)  had  attacked  the  Mingoe  fet- 
tleraent,  on  the  Ohio,  and  butchered  even  the  women  with  their  chil- 
dren in  their  arms,  and  that  Logan's  family  were  among  the  flain." — 
A  day  or  two  after  this,  feveral  Mingoes  made  their  appearance  ; 
among  whom  were  one  or  two  wounded,  who  had  in  this  manner  ef- 
fefted  their  efcape.  Exafperated  to  a  high  degree,  after  relating  the 
particulars  of  this  tranfaClion,  (which  for  humanity's  fake  I  forbear  to 
mention,)  after  reding  fome  time  on  the  treachery  of  the  Big  Knives, 
of  their  barbarity  to  thofe  who  arc  their  frier.ds^  they  gave  a  figurative 


(     AS     ) 

ofRnpt'ion  of  liie  pfrpetrntors  ;    iianK-d  Crcfap  n*?  l-.n\inp^  been  at  \\\t 
heuil  i>t"  this  •.nnrdrrous  aifl.     Tliey  made  liiintion  of  niiieljcir^  killed, 
anil  rwo   woiin;h'd  ;  and    were  prone  to  take  revenge  on  any  ptrfon  ot 
a  white    volo'ir  ;  for  which  reafo:i  the  niiHionaries    had  to  fiiut  iIkhi- 
Iclvcs  up  diiriniT  tlieir   itay.     Krom  this  time    terror  iIrjIv  increafcd. 
Tiic  exHfjicrarcJ  friends  and  relations  ot  thcle  murdered  women   and 
cliildrcn,  wich  the  nations  to  whom    they  belonged,  piffled  and  rcpaf- 
fed  through  the  vilhiges   of  the   quiet  Delaware   towns,  in   fearch  of 
wliire  people,  making  ufe    of  the  moft  ahuiive  lan^^uage  to  ihele  (the 
Dt'awarcs,)  fmce  they   would  not  join  in  taking   revcnpe.     'iradtrs 
had  euiier  to  h"de  ihcmfelves,  or  try  ro  get  O'lt  of  the  country  the  bed 
wny  they    could.     And   even,  at  this  time,  they  yet  found   fuch   true 
friends  r.mong  the  Indians,  who,  ottherilkof  their  own   lives,  con- 
d'lited  thcni,  witlj  the  belt    part  of  their  property,  to  Pit'ib'ivgh  ;  al- 
thou;;li,   (ihsmcful  to  relate  !)   thefe  benefat'tors  were,  on    their   return 
frnm  this  roilfion,  wayialJ,  and    Hred   upon  by   whites,    while  eroding 
Bi;^  Beaver  in   n  conoe,  and   had  one  man,  a  Shawanefe,  named  Silver- 
i?eels,  (a  man  of  note  in  liis  nation)  wounded  in  the  body.     This  exaf- 
jisrared  the  .Shawanefe  fo  much,  that  they,  or  ?t  !ea(f   a    great  part  of 
ihcm,  intaiediately  took  an  ailive  part  in  the  caufe  ;  and  the  Mingoes, 
(neareit  connected  with  the  former,)  became  unbounded  in  their  rage. 
A  Mr.  Jones,    fon  to    a  refpeflable    family    of  tiiis   ncighbouThoocl 
(Beihlehem,)     who  was  then  on  his  pafiage  up  Mi:flvinohuni,  with  two 
other  men.  was  fortunately  ei'pied  by  u  friendly  Indian  woman,  at  the 
falls   of    Muflcinghum  ;  who  through  motives  of  humaViiiy  alorc,  in- 
formed Jones  of  tlic  nature   of  the  times,  and    that  he   was    runnlnr; 
right  in  the  hands  of  the  enraged  ;   and  put  him  on  tlie  W33',  where  he 
nrght  perhaps    efcapc  the  vcn^'cance  of  the  [trolling  parlies.     One  of 
Jones's  men,  fatip,';ed  by  travelling    in  the  woods,  declared  he  would 
r.uher  die  than  reuT^iin  longer  in  this  fituation  ;  and    hitting    accident!/ 
on  T>  path,  he  determined  to  roIlov.r  the  fame.     A  few  hundred  vardsde- 
cidcrt /■'ii  fate.     ITe  was  met  by  a  partv  of  about  fifteen   Mingoes.  (and 
as  it  happened,  almolt  within  fight  of  "N^'hite  Eyes  Town.)  murdered, 
and  cut  to  pieces  ;  and    his    limbs    and  flefh   (hick  up  on  the  buflies. 
White  Eyes,   on  hearing  the    Scalp  Halloo,   ran  immediately  out  witJi 
his  men,  to  fee  w liar,  the  matter  was  ;  and  finding  the  manpled  body  in 
this  condition,  gathered  the  whole  and  hurried  it.     But  next  day,  when 
fome  of  the  above  party  found  on  their  return  the  body  interred,   thev 
iiillantlv  tore  up  the  ground,  and  endeavored  to  deffroy.  or  fcattera- 
bout,   the  parrs  at   a  greater  diftance.     White    Eyes,  with  the  Dela- 
wares,  watching  their  motione,  gathered  and  interred  the  fame  a  f!;- 
con.l  time.  The  war  party  finding  this  out,  ran  rurioufiy  into  the  Dela- 
ware Village,  exclaiming  againll   the  conuuft  of  thcfe  people  feitinor 
forth  the  cruelty  of  Crcfap  towards  women  and    children,  and  declar- 
ing at  the  fame  time,  that  thev  would,  in  confec^uencs  of  this  crueliv, 
ferve  every  white  man   thev    lliould  meet  with  in  the  fame  manner. 
Times  c;rew  worfe  and  worfe,  war    parries   went  out  and  took  .'calps 
and  prilbii^rs,  and  the  latter,  in  hopes  it  might  be  of  fei  vice    in  favino- 
thitir   lives,   exclaimed  againi't  ilio  barbarious  aJl  which  gave    rife  to 
thcfe  troubles  and  again'.l  tlie  perpetrators.     The  name  of  Creathonf« 
was  mentioned    as  having   been    accomplice  to  Crefap.     So  detcftable 
becam';  the    lafrer  name  among  the    Indians,    that    I   have  frequen'lr 
heard  tiiera  apply  it  to  the  worLl  of  thinps  ;  alfo  in  c^uiciirg  or  (liijiK^ 

G 


(     46     ) 

thejr  cbilJren,  T  have  heard  them  fay,  Iluflt  !  Crefap  will  f<  icii  yoil, 
Xvhereas  otherwill',  they  name  the  *..'\vl.  liie  warriors  liaviiig -aticr* 
wards  bent  their  coiuie  more  toward  the  Ohio,  and  down  the  lame, 
jieace{eemed  with  us  already  on  the  return  ;  and  this  hecame  the  cat's 
loon  after  the  decided  battle  fought  on  the  Kanhaway.  Traders,  re- 
turning now  into  the  Indian  country  again,  related  the  Itory  of  the 
above  mentioned  niairicre.  after  the  fu)He  viainm\  and  luith  the  J'ai.'ig 
wordj,  we  have  heard  it  related  hirherto.  So  the  report  lemaineil, 
and  was  believed,  by  all  who  redded  in  the  Indian  country.  So  it  was 
leprefcjnted  nam'>ers  or  thnes,  in  the  peaceable  Delaware  Towns,  by 
\iiii  Enemy.  So  the  Chrillian  Indians  were  coacinually  toidthev  would 
one  d<iy  be  Hirved  With  this  inipreffion,  a  petty  Chief  hurried  all  tlie 
way  from  \Vaba(h  in  I779  to  take  his  relations  (who  were  living  with 
the  peaceable  Delawares  near  Coniachkiug.)  out  of  the  reach  of  the 
Jii<T  Knives,  in  whoG?  triendihip  he  never  more  would  place  any  conti- 
tience.  And  when  this  man  found  tiiat  his  uumerous  relations,  wou'd 
not  break  friendfhip  with  the  Americans,  nor  be  removed,  he  took  two 
of  bis  rekfiions  (women)  off  by  force,  laying  '*  The  whole  crop  fhouUi 
jiot  be  dcllroyed  ;  I  will  have  ieed  out  of  it  for  a  new  crop  :'^  allud- 
ingto,  and  repeatingly  reminding  thefe  of  the  family  of  Logan,  who, 
he  laid,  had  been  real  fi  lends  to  the  whites,  and  yet  weje  cruelly  mur- 
tiered  by  them. 

In  Detroit,  where  I  arrived  the  fame  fpring,  the  report  rcfpecting 
the  murder  of  the  Indians  on  the  Ohio  (among  whom  was  Logan's  fa- 
jnily)  was  the  fame  as  related  above  ;  and  on  my  return  to  the  United 
States  in  the  fall  of  lyS'),  and  from  that  tinte,  whenever  and  wherever 
in  ray  prefence,  this  fubjeft  was  the  topic  of  converfation.  I  found  the 
report  (till  the  fame  ;  viz.  that  a  per("n  bearing  the  rjanie  of  Ctefap, 
was  the  author,  or  perpert-uor  of  tliis  deed. 

Logan  was  the  fecond  fon  of  Sm  kei-i.emus,  a  celebrated  chief  of 
the  Ciyuga  nation.  This  chief,  on  account  of  his  attachment  to  tlic 
Jt^niliOi  government,  was  of  great  f'ervice  to  the  couniiv,  having  the 
tortillence  of  all  the  Six  Nations,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Knglilh,  he  was 
very  nfeful  in  fettling  dilputes,  8cc.  Sic.  lie  was  higiily  elteemed  by 
Conrad  \V'ei{I:;r,  Eftj.  (an  officer  for  governntent  in  the  Indian  depart-- 
nifnt,)  with  whom  he  aifled  conjunctly,  and  wys  faitliful  unto  his  deal!), 
liis  reft. lence  was  ntfehamokin,  wliere  he  took  great  delight  in  acts  of 
li'dpitality  to  fuclt  of  the  white  people  whofe  buiinefs  led  ihem  that  wav.* 
His  name  and  fame  were  fo  high  on  record,  tiiat  count  Zinzendorf, 
when  in  this  country  in  1742,  became  doiirous  of  lecinj';  him,  and  ac- 
tually vifited  him  at  his  houfe  in  Shamokin.  -j-  About  the  year  1772, 
Logan  was  introduced  to  me.  by  an  Indian  friend  ;  as  fon  tothe  late 
repurable  chief  Shikellemus,  and  as  a  friend  to  the  wliite  people.  In  the 
lourl'e  of  converfation,  I  thought  him  a  man  of  lupcrior  talents,  th.an 
Indians  g?nerally  were.  The  fubjetl  turned  on  \  ice  and  immorality, 
1)1^  confefled  his  too  great  fliare  of  tliis,  efpecially  his  fondncfsfor  ru]uoi*. 
He  exclaimed  againd  the  white  people,  for  iin|iofinu;  liijuors  upon  the 
Indians  ;  he  otherwife  admired  their  ingenuity  ;  Ipoke  of  gentlemen, 
but  obfci-ved   the  Indians  unfortunately   had  but  few  of  thefe  as  iheir 

*  Ti'  ftrcreding  aicoittt  of  SbikelUmuSy  {^Logan's  futier)  is  ajucd  fiMili  mdnufcripts 
of  the    Rev.  Pyhvn,  -written  beliyetn   the  yean    174r,   .tnd  1748. 

t  Set  G.  H.  ILsiit!\  A.'/liiy  0/  the  i,lJfiQn  t>J  iht  Vnhcj.  Brethtn^  i^c.  P^;/  //, 
CAn/.   Jl.j!age~^\, 


I     47     ) 

n.'i^liHon-s,  X.-c,  Tc  fj-x  kr  of  his  fiirnfiniip  to  the  white  pi*ople.  wifh  • 
«.!  alwavs  to  be  a  ntiglihour  ro  ihtm,  inicii(i<"il  to  It-tilc  on  ilic  C'liio, 
below  iii'i,  Heaver  ;  vvus  (to  the  \u'A  of  my  rrtol)e«!:i it)n)  then  encaiini- 
tj  at  rhe  momh  of  this  river,  (licaver,)  iirprd  mciop;iy  him  a  vilit, 
iiic.  A'^lf.  I  w;is  ihen  li\ini!  at  the  Mornxian  Town  on  th.is  Hiver,  in 
The  neit;iil>oi.irh()(Kl  of  C"iiik'.ill<ee.  In  .*pril  177^,  while  on  my  palJape 
down  tiie  Ohio  tor  Miil'K!ni>,hinn,  Icallfl  at  l,oj>;rin'.s  lef.lemcnt  ;  where 
1  received  every  civility  1  could  exptOt  liom  inch  of  the  family  as  were 
at  h'Hiie. 

Indian  reports  concerning;  Loasn,  after  tl'e  death  of  Ms  family,  ran 
to  tl.is  ;  tluit  hi  exerted  iiimfelf  dnring  the  Sl);twnce  war,  (then  \(t 
tailed)  to  take  all  the  revenue  he  could,  declaring  he  had  loft  all  con- 
fidence intlie  white  people.  '  At  tlie  time  of  negociarion,  he  declared 
his  reludance  in  lavin£f  down  ihehatchet,  noi  ha\inw,  (in  his  o]>inion) 
yet  taken  ample  l:ui.sla>Hion  ;  yet,  for  'he  fake  of  the  tiatioo  he  would 
doit.  Mis  exprtlHons  from  time  to  time,  denoted  a  derp  melancholy, 
lite  (faidhe)  had  become  Ji  torment  to  h.iin  :  He  knew  no  more  whac 
pk-afnre  was  :  He  thouj^ht  it  had  been  better  if  he  had  never  exilled, 
6:c.  &c.  Report  further  Itates,  that  lie  became  in  fon)e  niealnre  ddiri- 
ons,  declared  he  would  kill  himfclf,  went  to  Detroit,  drank  very  free- 
Iv,  and  did  not  leem  to  care^vhat  hedivl.and  what  became  of  liimfr!*. 
In  thiscondi-ion  he  left  Detro'i,  ai^d,  on  his  way  between  that  place 
ijnd  Miami,  was  murdered.  In  October  1781,  while  as  prifoner  on  my 
way  to  J^errait,)  1  was  fhown  the  fpoc  where  this  Hiall  have  happened. 
IJavinj^  had  an  opportunity  (ince  lalt  June  of  fteing  the  Rev.  David 
Zeilb-ertTcf,  fenior,  n.iflionary  to  the  Dclaw  are  nation  of  Indians,  who 
had  re(id?d  anions;  the  fame  on  Muikingum,  at  the  time  when  the  mur- 
der was  commiued  on  the  family  of  l.ogan,  1  put  the  follow  iiig  quci- 
tinns  to  him.  i.  Who  he  had  undeiltood  i^  was  that  had  cann  itiecl 
the  muider  on  Login's  family  i  And  fecondly,  whether  he  had  any 
knowledj'.eof  a  fpeech  fent  to  lord  Dnnmore  by  Logan,  in  coni't  quence 
of  this  a'ft":  ii;,  S:c.  'I'o  whi-ch  ^'r.  Zeilberger's  anfwer  was  :  l  hat  l\e 
had,  tVoni  th.it  ti-ne  when  this  murder  was  committed  to  the  prefepc 
dav.firml)  believed  the  common  report  (which  he  1  ad  never  heaid  con- 
tr.idit'^ed]  vfz.  that  one  Crcfap  vvas  the  author  of  the  m:  flacr*'  ;  or 
th:'.t  it  was  cnmmirred  bv  his  orders  :  and  that  he  had  known  I,oonn 
as  a  boy,  h-id  frecjuenrly  leen  him  from  tl^at  time,  and  doubted  not  in 
tl>e  lealt,  that  LoLran  h:'d  lent  fiich  a  fpeech  to  l-ord  Di'nmnre  on  iliis 
occuTlon,  as  he  unde  ft  >od  from  me  hid  been  puMidicd  ;  that  exprrflions 
of  that  kind  from  h;dians  were  familiar  to  him  ;  tl  at  Loo^an  in  pnr- 
tirular,  was  a  man  of  quick  comprehenlion.  good  jiidgment  and  talents. 
^!r.  Zeifl^crger  has  been  a  miflionary  upwards  of  filty  yeais  ;  his  a<^e 
is  about  eighty  ;  fpeaks  bo'h  the  lanouajie  of  the  Oufirdapoes  and  the 
Delawares  ;  refides  at  prrfent  on  the  Nh'.fivinfTum.  w  ith  his  Irdian  cnn- 
gregation  ;  and  is  beloved  and  rcfpecledby  all  who  are  acquainted  with 
him. 

JOHN  HECXEVVEIDER. 

From  ibis  trjTimsny  ihe  foUoiu'mg  h'jicrkal  Jlaiement  rcfuJts  : 

In   April  or  M?y  1774,  a  number  of  people  being  engaged 
in  looking  out  for  fettlenients  on  the  Ohio,  information  was 

C  3 


(    48     ) 

fpread  among  them,  that  the  Indians  had  robbed  fome  of  the 
land-jobbers^  as  thofe  adventurers  were  called.  Alarmed  for 
their  iafety,  they  collefted  together  at  Wheeling-cretk.  Hear- 
ing there  that  there  were  two  Indians  and  fome  traders  a  lit- 
tle above  Wheeling,  Captain  Michael  Crefap,  one  of  the 
party,  propofed  to  way-lay  and  kill  them.  The  propofiLion, 
though  oppofed,  was  adopted.  A  party  went  up  the  river, 
with  Crefap  at  their  head,  and  killed  the  two  Indians. 

The  fame  afternoon  it  was  reported  that  there  was  a 
party  of  Indians  on  the  Ohio,  a  httle  belov/  Wheelhig.  Crefap 
and  his  party  immediately  proceeded  down  the  river,  and 
encamped  on  the  bank.  The  Indians  palled  him  peaceably, 
and  encam.ped  at  the  mouth  of  Grave  creek,  a  little  below. 
Crefap  and  his  party  attacked  them,  and  killed  feveral.  The 
Indians  returned  the  fire,  and  wounded  one  of  Cref^p's  par- 
ty. Among  the  flain  of  the  Indians  v/ere  fome  of  Logan's 
family.  Colonel  Zane  indeed  exprefles  a  doubt  of  it ;  but  it 
is  afHrmed  by  Kuflon  and  Chambers.  Smith,  one  of  the 
murderers,  faid  they  v^^ere  known  and  acknowledged  to  be 
Logan's  friends,  and  the  party  themfelves  generally  faid  fo  ; 
boa!tedofit  in  prefence  of  Crefap  ;  pretended  no  provoca- 
tion ;  and  exprelfed  their  expedations  that  Logan  would 
probably  avenge  their  deaths. 

Purfuino;  thcfe  examioles,  Daniel  Great-houfe  and  one 
Tomlinfon,  who  lived  on  the  oppofite  fide  of  the  river  from 
the  Indians,  and  were  in  habits  of  friendfliip  with  them,  col- 
lefted  at  the  houfe  of  Polke  on  Crofs  creek,  about  16  miles- 
from  baker's  Bottom  a  party  of  32  men.  Their  objcO:  was  to 
attack  a  hunting  encampment  of  Indians,  confiding  of  men, 
women  and  children,  at  the  mouth  of  Yellow  creek,  fome 
diflance  above  Wheeling.  They  proceeded,  and  when  ar- 
rived near  Baker's  Bottom,  they  concealed  themielves,  and 
Great-houfe  croffed  the  river  to  the  Indian  camp.  Being 
among  them  as  a  friend  he  counted  them,  and  found  iheni 
too  ftrong  for  an  open  attack  with  his  force.  While  here,  he 
was  cautioned  by  one  of  the  v^'onien  not  to  ftay,  for  that  the 
Indian  men  were  drinking,  and  having  heard  of  Crefap's 
murder  of  their  relations  at  Grave  creek,  were  angry,  and 
fhe  prelfed  him,  in  a  friendly  manner,  to  go  home  ;  where- 
upon, after  inviting  them  to  come  over  and  drink,  he  return- 
ed to  Baker's,  which  was  a  tavern  and  defired  that  when 
any  of  them  ihould  come  to  his  houfe  he  would  give  them  as 


■(     49     ) 

much  rum  ns  they  would  drink.  When  his  plot  wns  ripe 
I'dvA  A.  iuiricijnt  iiurubcr  of  thcjn  were  collected  at  Baker's, 
and  intox-icated,  he  and  his  piirty  fell  on  them  and  malTa- 
cred  Lhe  whole,  except  a  lit[le  girl,  whom  they  prefcrved 
as  a  pnlbner.  Amon^  thefe  was  tlie  very  woman  who  hud 
favtd  his  life,  by  prefring  him  to  retire  from  the  drunken 
v.rath  of  her  friends,  when  he  was  fpying  their  camp  at 
Yellow  Creek.  Lirher  (he  hcrfcU,  or  feme  other  of  the 
murdered  v/omen,  was  the  hfler  of  I,ogan,  very  big  with 
child,  and  inhumanly  and  indecently  butchered  j  and  there 
were  other  of  his  relations  v/ho  fell  here. 

'Ihe  party  on  the  other  lidc  of  the  river,  alarmed  for 
their  friends  at  Baker's,  on  hearing  the  report  of  the  guns, 
manned  two  canoes  and  fcnt  them  over.  They  were  re- 
ceived, as  they  apy^roached  the  ihore,  by  a  well  direded 
fire  from  Great-houfe's  party,  which  killed  fome,  wound- 
ed others,  and  obliged  the  red  to  put  back.  Baker 
tells  us  tliere  were  twelve  killv-d,  and  fix  or  eight  wcnmded. 
This  commenced  the  war,  of  which  Logan's  war-club 
and  note  left  in  the  houfe  of  a  murdered  family,  was  the 
notification.  In  ihe  courfe  of  it,  during  the  enluing  fum- 
mer,  great  numbers  of  innocent  men,  women  and  children, 
fell  victims  to  the  tomahav.k  and  fcalping  knife  of  ihe  Indi- 
ans, till  it  was  arreibed  in  the  autumn  following  by  the  bat- 
tle at  Point-Pleafant  and  the  pacification  with  Lord  Dun- 
more,  at  which  the  fpeech  of  Logan  was  delivered. 

Cf  the  genuinefs  of  that  fpeech  nothing  need  be  faid, 
it  was  known  to  the  camp  v.'here  it  was  delivered  ;  it  was 
given  out  by  lord  Dunmore  and  his  ofhcers  ;  it  ran  through 
the  public  papers  of  thcfe  ftates  ;  was  rehearfed  as  an  exer- 
cife  at  fchools ;  publiilied  in  the  papers  and  periodical 
works  of  Europe  ;  and  all  this,  a  dozen  years  before  it  was 
copied  into  the  notes  on  Virginia.  In  fine,  general  Gibfon 
concludes  the  queftion  for  ever,  by  declaring  that  he  receiv- 
ed it  from  Logan's  hand,  delivered  it  to  Lord  Diinmore, 
tranflated  it  for  him,  and  that  the  copy  in  the  notes  en  Vir- 
ginia is  a  faith.f'ul  copy. 

The  popular  account  of  thefe  tranfaftions,  as  flated  in 
the  notes  on  Virginia,  appears,  on  collecting  exact  inform- 
ation, imperfedt  and  erroneous  in  its  detail?.  It  was  the 
belief  of  the  day  ;  but  how  far  its  errors  were  to  the  preju- 
dice of  Crefap,  the  reader  will  now  judge.     That   he,  and 


(     50     ) 

thofe  under  hipxi,  murdered  two  Indians  above  Wheeling  ; 
that  they  murdered  a  larger  number  at  Grave  Creek,  amon^j 
whom  v/ere  a  part  of  the  family  and  relations  of  Logan, 
cannot  be  queltioned  ;  and  as  little  that  this  led  to  the  maf- 
facre  of  the  reft  of  the  family  at  Yellow  creek.  Logan  im- 
puted the  whole  to  Crefap  in  his  war  note  and  peace  fpeech  : 
the  Lndians  generally  imputed  it  to  Crefap  ;  Lord  Dunmore 
and  his  officers  imputed  it  to  Crefap  :  the  country,  with 
one  accord,  imputed  it  to  him  :  and  Vvhether  he  were  inno- 
cent, let  the  univerfal  verdict  now  declare. 

I  propofe  that  in  any  future  edition  of  the  notes  on  Vir- 
ginia, the  pafTage  relating  to  this  fubject  fliall  (land  in  the 
following  form  : 

'  In  the  fpring  of  tlie  year  1774,  a  robbery  v/as  com- 
mitted by  feme  Indians  on  certain  land-adventurers  en  the 
river  Ohio.  The  wl  ites  in  that  quarter,  according  to  their 
cuftom,  undertook  to  punifli  this  outrage  in  a  fum.mary  way. 
Captain  Micheal  Crefap,  and  a  certain  Daniel  Great-houfe, 
leading  on  thefe  parties,  furprized,  at  different  times,  travel- 
ling and  hunting  parties  of  the  Indians,  having  their  wo- 
men and  children  with  them,  and  murdered  many.  A- 
mong  thefe  were  unfortunately  the  family  of  Logan,  a  chief 
celebrated  in  peace  and  war,  and  long  diftinguiilied  as  the 
friend  of  the  whites.  This  unworthy  return  provoked  his 
vengeance.  He  accordingly  fignalized  himfelf  in  the  war 
which  enfued.  In  the  autumn  of  the  fame  year  a  decifive 
battle  was  fought  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kahaway,  be- 
tween the  coUecled  forces  of  the  Shav/anefe,  Mingoes  and 
Delewares,  and  a  detachment  of  the  Virginia  militia.  The 
Indians  were  defeated  and  fued  for  peace.  Logan,  howe- 
ver difdained  to  be  feen  among  the  fupplir.nts.  But  left 
the  fincerity  of  a  treaty  fliould  be  diftrufted,  from  which  fo 
diftingulfhed  a  chief  abfented  himfelf,  he  fent,  by  a  meffen- 
ger,  the  following  fpeech  to  be  delivered  to  Lord  Dunmore. 

"  I  appeal  to  any  white  man  to  fay,  if  ever  he  entered 
Logans  cabin  hungry,  and  he  gave  him  not  nicat  ;  if  ever 
he  came  cold  and  naked,  and  he  cloathed  h'm  not.  Dur- 
ing the  courfe  of  the  laft  long  and  bloody  war  Logan  re- 
mained idle  in  his  cabin  an  advocate  for  peace.  Such  was 
my  love  for  the  whites,  that  my  countrymen  pointed  as  they 
palfed,  and  laid, '  Logan  is  the  friend  of  white  men.'  I 
kad  even  thought  to  have  lived  with  you,  but  for  the  Inj'.w 


(    5'     ) 

ric:?  of  one  man.  Colonel  Crefan,  the  laft;  fpring,  in  coIJ 
blood,  anJ  unprovoked,  nuirdcrcJ  all  ihc  rehuions  ot  Lo- 
gan, not  even  iparing  my  women  and  children.  '1  here 
luns  not  a  drop  ot  my  blood  in  the  veins  ol  any  living  crea- 
ture. This  Called  on  me  lor  revenge.  1  have  lought  it  ; 
1  have  killed  many  :  1  have  fully  glutted  my  vengeance  ; 
for  my  country  1  rejoice  at  the  beams  of  peice.  JUit  do 
not  harbour  a  thought  that  mine  is  the  joy  of  lear.  Logan 
never  ijlt  fear.  He  will  not  turn  on  his  heel  to  fare  his 
life.     Who  is  there  to  mourn  for  Logan  ^ — Not  one. 

The  declaration  of  John  Sappingtcn,  received  after  the  pub* 
lieation  of  the  preceding  appendix, 

J,  JOHN  SAPn.MGTON,  dcdjrev:yf,-lj  to  be  hiftmrtely  accjuai!:t:d  vjUh 
uii  thi  c'trcumjtiincis  rcf(icBi7ig  the  dcjlruiiicn  of  L-jgm:' i  j'aurJy,  and 
diti^iv:  in  the  flliowing  inirrntiji,  ci  true  J{(itc7u:ht  oj  that  (tjj'uir. 

Login's  family  (if  it  was  bis  family)  was  not  killed  by  Crefap  nor  with 
liis  knowledge,  nor  by  his  confcnt,  but  by  the  Great  hoiifes  and  their 
uHbciates.  1  hey  were  killed  30  mile?  above  Wheeling,  near  the  inomh 
of  Yellow  Creek.  Logan's  camp  was  on  one  fids  of  the  river  Ohio, 
and  the  hoiife,  where  the  murder  was  committed,  oppolite  to  it  on  iliC 
other  fide.  They  had  encamped  there  only  lour  or  live  days,  and  dur- 
\\\^  that  lime  had  lived  peaceably  and  neighbourly  with  the  whites  on 
the  oppohte  fide,  until  the  \ervtlay  the  atrair  happened.  A  little  btr- 
foi-c  the  period  alluded  to,  letters  had  been  received  by  the  irdiabitanrs 
iri  ni  a  man  of  great  influence  in  that  country,  and  wlio  was  then  1  bc- 
I'Kfxe  at  Capteener,  informing  them  that  war  was  at  hand,  and  dcl;r- 
iiig  them  lobe  011  their  guard.  In  confc-cjuence  of  ihofe  letters  and  o- 
ilier  rumours  of  the  jauie  import,  almoil  all  the  inhabitants  fled  for 
faktv  into  tl'C  fettlemenrs.  It  was  at  the  lioufe  of  one  I'aker  the  mur- 
der was  committed,  i^aker  was  a  man  wiio  Ibid  rum,  and  the  Indians 
had  made  frequents  vilirs  at  his  houfe,  induced  probably  by  their  fond- 
nels  for  that  liquor.  He  had  been  particularly  deiircd  by  Crefap  to 
remove  and  take  away  his  rum,  and  lie  was  aciuallv  preparing  to  move 
at  the  time  of  the  murder.  The  evening  before  a  Iquaw  came  over  to 
Baker's  houfe,  and  by  her  rryin<.' fecmed  to  be  in  great  didrefs.  The 
caufe  of  her  unealinefs  being  afi-icd,  fhe  refufed  to  tell  ;  but  gettinjj; 
Baker's  wife  alone,  Ihc  told  l;er,  that  the  Indians  were  going  to  kill 
licr  and  all  her  family  the  next  day,  that  flie  loved  her,  did  not  wiffi 
lier  to  be  killed,  and  therefore  told  her  wliat  was  intended,  that  flic 
might  fave  hcrfelf.  In  confequcnce  ol'  this  intorniation,  Baker  got  a 
number  of  men  to  the  amount  of  21  to  rome  to  his  linufe,a;!u  they 
were  all  there  before  morning.  A  council  was  held  and  it  was  deter' 
mined  that  the  men  flionld  lie  concealed  in  a  back  appartment  ;  iliat  if 
the  Indians  did  come  and  behave  ih.emfeives  peaceablv,  tliey  fliould  noc 
be  nioleded  ;  but  If  not;  the  men  were  to  fliew  themfi  Ives  and  act  ac- 
*  cortfingly.  Early  in  the  morning  7  Indians,  4  men  and  :;  fquaws,  came 
wver.     Logan's  brother  >Yas  one  of  them.    Tliey  immediately  got  lum. 


and  all,  except  Logan's  brother,  be  i-ame  very  ^Tiucli  nitoxlcated.     At 
this  time  all  the    <ucTi  we^e   concealed,   except  the  man  of  the  hoiile, 
JBakcT,  and  two  others  who  (laid  out  with  him.  Thofe  Indians  came  uH' 
arme''.     After  fome  time  Logan's   brother  vonk  down  a  coat  and  hat 
beiopging  ro   Baker's  brother  in-law,    who  lived    wiih   him,  a^d  put 
them  on.  and    fettiog  his  arms  a  kimbo  began    to  ilrut  sbout,   till    at 
length  coming  up  to  one  of  the  men,  he  attempted  lo  Itrike  him,  ibjlnji; 
*'  white  man,   fon  of  a  bitch."      !  he    white  man,   v»'hom  he    treated 
thus,  k'^rt  out    oK  his   way   for  feme  tim.e  ;   but  growing    irritated   he 
jimiped  to  iiis  gun,   and  Htol  the  Indian  as  he  was  making  rothe  door 
with  tiie  crjat  and  hat  o;:  him.      Theuien  who  lay  concealed  then  rufh- 
ed  out,  and  killed  t!ie  whole  ol"  them,  excepting  one  child  which  I  be- 
lieve is  alive  yet.      But  before  this   !;appened,  one  with  two,  the  other 
with  ^ivc  Indians,  ali  naked,  painted  and    armed  completely  for  war, 
were  difcovered  to  fta.t  from   the  (liore  on  which  Loi;an's  camp  was. 
Had  it  'lot  bv-en  for  this  circumftance,  the  white  men  wouldjnot  have  act- 
ed as    tlicv  did  i  bvit  this  coiiiirmed  what  the  fqiiaw  had  toid  before. 
The  white  men,  havin?^  killed  as  aforefaid     the  Indians   in  the  honfe, 
ranged  themfelves  alone;  the  bank  of  the  river,  to  receive  the  canoes. 
Tlte  canoe   with  two  Inuia!iscaiT>e  near,   being  the  foremoft.  Our   men 
fired  upon  ihem    and  killed  them  both.      The   other    canoe  then  went 
back,     /ij'trr  this    two  otl;er  canoes  {iartcd,  the  one  contained  1 1,  the 
other  7  Indians,   painted  and  armed  as   the  firit.     They  attempted  to 
land  below  our  men  ;  but  were  fired  upon,  had  one  killed,  and  retreat- 
ed, at  the  faiue  time  firing  back.     To  the  bell  of  my  recoileftion  there 
■were  three  of  the    Gresthoufes  engaged     in  this  bufinefs.      This   is  a 
true   repref..mration  of  the  affair  t;  om  bepim.ing  to  end.     I  was  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  Crcfr.p,  and  know  he  had  no  hand  in  that  tranf- 
nftion.     He   told    me  himfeifcafterwards   at  E.edflon.°  old  fort,  that  the 
day  before   Logan's  people   *i'ere  killed,  he,  with  a  fmnll  party  had  an 
engagement  with  a  party   of  Indians  on  Capteneer,   about   44   miles 
lower  down.     Logan's    people  were    killed  at  the   mouth  of  Yellow 
Creek  on  the  2/ith  of  Aiay   1774,  and  on  the  2;d,  the  day  before,  Cre- 
fap  was  engaged  asalrcady  (tated,     I  knowlikewife  that  he  '-^as  gene- 
raily  blamed  for  it,,  and-bi^lievcd  by  all  who  were  not  acquainted  with  ' 
the  circnmllances.  to  have  been  the  perpetrator  of  it.     1  know  that  he 
ciefpifed  and    hated   the  Grtathoure.«;  ever  afterwards  on  accrunt  of  it. 
1  wr.s  intimately  acquainted  with  general  Gibfon,  and  ferved  unc'er  him 
during  the  late  war,  and  !  have  a  difcharge  irom  him  now  lying  it"!  the 
land  office  at  Richmnn  !,  to  which  I  ref-r  any  perfon  for  my  char  after, 
^vho  might  be  difpor^d  to  fcruple    my  varacity.     I  was  likewife  at  the 
treaty  held  by  lord    Donmorewitl)  the  Indians  at  Chelicothe.     As  for 
the  fpeech  i'.Ui]  to    have  been  delivered  by    Lor»nn  on  that  cccafion,    it 
might  have  been,  or  mi-i^ht  not,  for  any  thing  '  know    as  1  rever  heard 
of  it  till  long  afferwnuls-.      1  do  not  believe  that  T.oPan  had  pny  rela- 
tions ki'led.    except  one  brother.     Neither    of  the  fquaws  yyhn   >vere 
killed  was  his    wite.      Two  of  rhem  were  old  women,  and  the  third, 
witli  her  cliiUl  which  was  fav-tl.j  have  the  beft  reafcn  in  the  world  to  be- 
lieve was  the    wife  and  child  of  general  Gibfon.      \  know  he  educated 
the  child,  and  took  care  of  it,  as  if  it  had  been    hi?    own      Whether 
Logan   ha'^  a  wife  or  not,  ■  cant    fay  ;  but  it    is  probable  that  as  he 
was  a  chief,  he  confirlereJ  them  all  as  his  people.      All  tld'  1  am  ready 
to  be  qualified  to  at  any  time.  JOHN  SAi??INGTO  N. 

yiliteji  Saf/iuelM'KiC,  jii/sr. 


(    53    ) 

D'laddifoii  Count) f  Feb,  i^th,  iSco. 

I  do  certify  further  tliat  the  above  nnmed  John  Sappingtor  told  mc> 
at  the  fanic  tune  and  place  at  which  he  gave  me  the  above  narrative, 
that  he  himfclt'  was  ilic  man  who  fliot  tlie  brother  of  Lo<;nn  in  the 
houfc  as  above  related,  and  that  he  likewile  killed  one  of  the  Indians 
in  one  of  the  canoes,  which  came  overlroni  the  oppolitc  fliore. 

He  likewife  told  me  that  Crefnp  never  faid  an  angry  word  to  him  a- 
bout  the  niattci ,  although  he  was  frequently  in  company  withCrefap, 
and  indeed  had  been,  and  continued  to  be,  in  habits  of  intimacy  with 
that  gentleman,  and  was  always  befriended  by  him  on  every  occafion. 
He  further  told  me,  that  after  they  had  perpetrated  the  murder,  and 
were  flying  in  the  lettlements,  he  met  with  Crefap  (if  I  recoiled. right, 
at  Reditone  old  fort,)  and  gave  him  a  fcalp,  .1  very  large  fine  one  as 
he  exprelled  it,  and  adorned  withfdver.  This  fcalji  I  think  he  told  me, 
^vasthe  fcalp  of  Logan's  brother  ;  though  as  to  this  i  am  not  abfolutc- 
ly  certain. 

drtificd  bjl 

SAMUEL  M'KEE,  junr. 


\t. 


A 

Vindication 

OK  THE 

RELIGION 

O  F 

Mr.  J  E  F  F  E  R  S  O  N, 

J  ND     A 

STATEMENT  of  his  SERVICES 

IN  THE 

CAUSE 

OF 

Religious  Liberty. 

BY  A  FRIEND  TO  REAL  RELIGION. 

^rom  Envy,  Hatred  and  Malice,  and  all  Uncharitablenefs^*' 

Gocd  Lord  Deliver  Us  ! 

Lit.  of  Trot.  Episc.  Church. 


BALTIMORE: 

Prir.nd  for  the  Editor  oj  /^,' AMERICAN,  by  W.PECmif. 
Price— i8  Cents. 


^ 


Mr.  JefFerfon's 

Services    in   the  Cause   of  Religion — 


VINDICATED, 


■?*;•<  •<-<  •<••<■•<  •<.-«.-<4>>-  >••>     >••>.  V  >>">>• 


T  has  pleafed  the  Divine  Being,  la  the  emancipation 
or  our  country  from,  the  yoke  of  civil  bondage,  to  blefs 
\t  alfo  with  a  more  extenfive  and  enhghtened  enjoyment 
of  the  privileges  of  rehgious  liberty  than  ever  was  pof- 
fefled  by  any  Nation  of  equal  extent,  fimilarly  circum- 
flanced,  and  whofe  citizens  were  deversificd  with  fo  many 
various   views  of  the  chrl{li?;n  relit" ion. 

c 

If  our  gratitude  lias  been  zealouily  and  warmly  mani- 
fefled  towards  thofc  patriots  and  heroes  whofe  fervices,  un- 
der Divine  Providence  were  moil  iUudrious  in  vindicating 
our  civil  rights,  and  eftablifliing  our  liberties.  It  ought  to 
be  no  lefs  jufl  and  fincere  in  paying  a  due  tribute  to  thofe 
who,  not  only  during  the  revolution,  but  fmce  that  peri- 
od, have  been  molt  zealous  and  active  in  their  exertions 
in  withflanding  every  encroachment  on  our  religious  pre- 
viieges-  If  fo,  I.  hefitate  not  to  affirm  that  Mr.  Jeffcrj'un  is 
the  man  to  whom  the  friends  of  religious  fociety  are  more 
indebted  than  to  any  other  in  the  United  States.  Of  the 
truth  of  this  I  hope  to  be  able  to  convince  the  impartial,  un- 
prejudiced mind  of  every  i*eader  wlio  will  take  the  trouble 
of  examining  his  documents  and  the  proofs  by  which,  they 
are  fupported. 

It  is  a  moft  felicitating  circumflance  to  every  friend  to 
true  religion  that  not  only  the  fnirit  of  our  Federal  Con- 

A  2    ' 


I     4     ] 

Aitution  ;  but  aKo  the  general  fpirit  of  our  State  Conftl- 
tution?,  breathe  a  geaeral  fpirit  of  religious  liberty.  On. 
the  enjoyment  of  this  liberty  depend  the  rights  of  confci- 
ence,  thofe  rights  over  which  nune  but  our  God  and  our. 
own  minds  ought  to  have  any  coercive  controul. 

Wherever  thofe  rights  are  fubjedred  to  civil  ufurpati- 
on  or  tyranny,  no  true  religion  can  profper  or  be  general- 
ly cheriihed.  To  this  caufe,  this  fatal  caune  may  be  refer- 
red, in  a  great  meafure,  thjt  degeneracy  into  \yhich  chrif- 
tianity  has  funk  and  been  degraded  through  every  nation 
of  Europe.  Its  tyrannical  and  civil  Lords  or  Defpots,  by 
means  of  their  civil  power,  ufurped,  alfo  a  religious  pre- 
rogative over  the  minds  and  confciences  of  their  vafTals  ; 
prefcribed  to  them  what  they  fliould  believe,  and  what 
not :  eftablifhed  one  ecclefiadical  fyftem  and  rejefted  ano- 
ther j  preferred  this  religious  denomintition  and  reicfted: 
that,  juK  as  it  might  belt  fuit  their  ambitious  views  in  op- 
prefiing  the  people;  and  in  keeping  them  enflaved  under 
the  galling  yoke  of  not  only  temporal,  but  fpiritual  bend- 
age.  The  pretended  miniflers  of  religion  not  only  acquief- 
ced  in  this,  but  became  the  advocates  of  the  tyranny  which 
provided  for  their  worldly  interefts  and  ambition  ;  and 
inftead  of  maintaining  that  "  Liberty  with  which  Chrift: 
had  made  them  free  ;'*  fold  that  noble, '  that  divine,  reli- 
gious birth-right  for  a  mefs  of  pottage  ;  for  w^orldly  inter- 
efts  and  vain  dillinOrions.  For  mitres,  tythes  and  titles, 
they  bartered  away  the  facred,  divine  rights  of  thofe,  over"; 
which  they  ought  to  have  been  the  faithful  watchmen,  the 
religious  and  fpiritual   guides  and  guardians. 

Any  man  who  wiljl  take  the  pains  to  trace  the  hiftory  of- 
religion,  in  every  European  country  where  chriftianity 
has  been  profefl'ed  y  or  even  what  has  been  the  true  ftate 
of  religion  in  oiir  o\Vn  country,  muft  be  convinced  of  the 
juftnefs,  or  truth  of  thefe  obfervations. 

Very  ^arly  after  our  glorious  revolution,  the  fame,  or 
a  fimilar  ruinous  fvflem  of  policy  rcfpeding  religion  was 
likely  to  have  been  introduced  into  the  ftate  of  Virginia, 
and  had  it  not  been  for  the  patriotic  exertions  of  a  Jeffer- 
fon,  at  that  time  in  all  probability  would  have  been  intro- 
duced— and  if  it  had,  who  knows  where  or  when  it  might 
have  flopped  ? 


U    5    1 

Let  rhofc  who  have  dared  to  reprcfcnt  Mr.  JcfFerfon  as 
(he  enemy  of  religion,  conUdcr  this;  let  them  alio  attend 
to  the  followinp;  preamble- to  the  lawpafTed  at  that  time  by 
the  alVembly  of  the  State  of  Virginia,  which  law  owes 
itsexiflence'to  Mr.  Jeflerfon. 

An    ACT 

For  c/labUjhing  RELIGIOUS  FREEDOM,  pajfcd  in  the 
JJfi'jiibly  of  Virginia,  early  in  ihs  year  1786: 

*  Well  aware  that  Almighty  God  hath  created  the  mind 

*  free  :  that  all  attempts  to  influence  it  by  temporal  pun- 
^  iihments  or  burdens,  or  by  civil  incapacitations,  tend 
f  only  to  beget  habits  of  hypocrify  and  meannefs,  and  are 

*  a  departure  fi:om  the   plan  of  the  Uo!y  Author  of  our 

*  religion,  vvhoj  being  Lord  of  body  and  mind,  yet  chofe 
'  not  to  propagate  it  by  coercions  on  either,  as  was  in  his 

*  Almighty  power  to  do  ;    that   the  impious  prefumption 

*  of  Legiflators  and  Rulers,  civil  as  v/ell  as  ecclefiaitical, 

*  who  being  themfelyes  failible  snd  uninfpircd  men,  have 

*  afTumed  dominion  eve?  the  faith  of  others  ;   fetting  up 

*  their  own  opinions  and  modes  of  thinking  as  the  only 

*  true  and  infalhble,  and  as  fuch  endeavouring  to  impofe 
'  them  on  others,  have  eftablidied  and  maintained  falfc 
'  religions  over  the  greatcil  part  of  the  world,  and  through 
'  all  time  :     that  to  compel  a  man  to  contributions  of  rao- 

*  ney  for  the  propagation  of  opinions  wliich  he  difbelievcs, 
'  is  finfui  and  tyrannical;  that  even  the  forcing  him  to 
'  fupport  this  or  that  teacher  of  his  own  religious  perfua- 
'  fion,  i?  depriving  him  of  the  comfortable  liberty  of  giv- 
'  ing  his  contributions  to  the  particular  pafiior  whofe  nior- 

*  als  he  would  make  his  pattern,  and  whofe  power  he  feels 
'  niofl  perfuafive  to  righteoufnefs  ;  and  is  withdrawing 
'  from  the  miniflry  thofe  temporal  rewards  which,  pro- 
'  ceeding  from  an  approbation  of  their  perfonal  conduct, 
'  are  an  additional  excitement  to  earnclt  and  unremitting 

*  labours  for  the  iaflrucHon  of  mankind  ;  that  our  civil 
*^  rights  have  no  dependence  on  our  religious  opinions ; 
'  more  than  on  our  opinions  in  phyhcs  or  geometry  ;  that 
'  therefore  the  profcribing  any  citizen  as  unworthy  of  pub- 
'  lie  confidence,  by  laying  upon  him  an  incapacity  ofbe- 

*  ing  called  to  oiEces  0^  truft  and  emolument,  unlefs  be 


C  6  3 

«  prefers  cr  renounce  this  or  that  religious  opinion,  is  de-* 

*  priving  him  injurioufly  of  thofe  privileges  and  advantages 
'  to  which  in  commori  "with  his  fellow  citizens,  he  has  a 
'  natural  right ;  that  it  tends  alfo  to  corrupt  the  principles 

*  of  that  very  religion  it  is  meant  to  encoarage,  by  bribing 

*  with  a  monopoly  of  worldly  honours   and  emoluments, 

*  thofe  who  will  externally  profefs  and  conform  to  it;  and 
'  though  indeed,  thofe  are  crimin,al  who  do  not  withlfand 
'  fuch  temptation  ;  yet  neither  are  thofe  innocent  who  lay 

*  the  bait  in  their  way;  that  to  fufier  the  civil  magiftrate 
'  to  intrude  his  powers  into  the  field  ©f  opinion,  and  to 
'  reftrain  the  profefTion  or  propagation  of  principles,  on- 
'  fuppofition  of  their  ili-tendcncy,  is  a  dangerous  fallacy, 
'  which  at  once  deftroy^  all  religious  liberty,  becaufe  he 

*  being  of  courfe,  judge  of  ?hat  tendency,  will  make  his 
'  opinions  the  rule  of  judgment,  and  approve  or  condemn 
'  the  fentim.ents  of  others  only  as  they  ihall  fquare  with  or 

*  differ  from  his  own  ;  that  it  is  time  enough  for  the  right- 

*  ful  purpofes  of  civil  government,  or  its:0'fliccrs  to  inter- 

*  fere   when  principles  break  out  into  over^  acl;s  againfr 

*  peace  and   good  order,   and  finally,  that  iruib  is  great 

*  and  will  prevail  if  left  to  herfelf ;  that  fhe  is  the  proper 
'  andfufficient  antagonift  to  error,  and  has  nothing  to  fear 
'  from  the  conflicl,  unlefs  by  human  interpofition  difarm^ 

*  ed  of  her  natural  weapons,  free  arguments  and  debate,, 
'  errors  ceafmg  to  be  dangerous  when  it  is  permitted  frecn,. 
'  ly  to  contradicf  them.' 

Such  is  thepream.ble  to  that  memorable  law  which  gave 
religious  liberty  and  the  rights  of  confcience  to  the  State 
of  Virginia.  A  law  to  which,  if  Mr.  jeiferfon  may  not 
lay  an  exclufive  claim  to  the  merit  and  honor  of  being  its 
author,  it  is  well  known  and  muft  be  evident  to  every 
cne  acquainted  with  his  fentimentr,,  as  exprefled  in  his 
notes  on  Virginia  ;  that  it  was  framed,  adopted  and 
paifed  principally  by  his  patriotic  exertions  in  its  fa- 
vour. 

Now  where  is  the  public  chara6ler  to  v/hich  religion, 
even  the  chrillian  religion,  as  profefied  by  different  deno- 
minations in  thefe  flates,  is  m>ore  indebted?  Has  he  not 
been  uniformly  the  able  advocate  of  that  religious  liberty, 
which  every  denomination  confiders  as  its  moft  invaluable 


t  ?  5 

privilege  ?  We  liave  no  concern  with  thf  pecu'iar  treect 
or  confellion  of" any  public  civil  chnrader  ?  It  ij>  lufTicicnt 
for  us  that  he  be  the  determined  vindicator  of  that  libe-r- 
ry  which  is  not  only  the  bell  guardian  of  true  religion,  but 
•alio  provides  irnd  fecuVes  to  us  the  happinels  of  worihip- 
ing  God  according  to  our  confciences  "without  any  to 
jnakc  us  afraii?,"  to  tyrannize  over  our  opinions;  t« 
trample  down  that  facred  prerogative  conferred  on  us  by 
God;  and  that  happy  civil  conftitution  with  which,  In 
his  providence,  he  hath  bielfed  thefe  ftates* 

'J'he  friends  of  this  conftitution  they  cannot  be,  who 
would  deny  IMr.  jclferlbn,  or  any  other  man,  liberty  of 
confcience  in  religious  matters.  That  conllitution  has  laid 
no  penal  prohibition  from  places  of  the  higheft  truft,  on 
any  man  for  his  opinions  on  any  religious  fubjects.  How 
prepofterous  and  abfurd  i^  it  then  in  the  invidious  oppo- 
nents of  Mr.  Jefferron,  to  be  crying  up  their  zeal  for  the 
govemraent  and  conftitution,  when  they  are.  thus  coun- 
teracting the  moft  falutary  and  diftinguilhcd  Ipirit  which 
it  breath e^. 

What  u'ould  be  the  ccnfequences  in  thefe  ftates,  were 
each  religious  denomination  oppofed  to  every  candidate 
for  the  prefidency,  who  did  not  come  up  lo  a  ccrrefpond- 
ence  with  their  religious  opinions? 

Even  en  the  fuppofition,  then,  that  there  exifted  any 
ju ft  foundation  for  th€  raili  unattefted  innuendoes  which 
Ibme  partizans  throw  out  againft  Mr.  Jeflcrfon,  refpccling 
religion,  it  is  direclly  contrary  to  our  conftitutional  pre- 
rogative, and  inimical  to  the  genuine  fpirit  of  that  religi- 
ous liberty,  which  we  hold  as  not  the  Icaft  valuable  fruit 
of  our  happy  and  glorious  revolution. 

But  the  trutli  is,  we  have  too  many  among  us  who  are 
enemlc'S  to  religious  liberty;  even  ecclefiaftics  we  have, 
and  thofe  not  a  few,  who  had  they  the  goUk'iiJh-cceoi  tem- 
porals, would  not  much  care  if  th^  wolves  of  tyranny  and 
<lefpotifm  had  the  flock  ;  Men,  who  are  panting  after 
church  prerogatives  and  ecclefiaftical  diftinclion.  They 
and  tkeir  adherents-,  fome  through  ilelufion  and  others 
tlirough  defign,  it  may  be  expected  would  be  oppofed  to 
him,  who  has  been  uniformly  oppofed  to  their  temporal 
pride  and  ambition;  founded  on  the  oppreflion  rather 
ibaa  the  inftrus^ion  of  the  rthVious — uniformly  oppofed 


[     8     ] 

to  that  fort  of  clerical  influence  which  arifes  rather  from 
worldly  or  fecular  dignities,  and  titled  prefumption,  than 
the  real  confcioufnefs  of  acquired  and  exemplary  worth, 
or  padoral  care  and  diligence. 

To  this  confideration  may  he  affigned  that  hue  and  cry, 
and  a  mod  anti-American  unconftitutional  one  it  is,  thai 
has  been  raifed  againfl  Mr.  Jefferfon  oh  the  fcore  of  reli- 

1  he  very  conduft  which  ought  to  immortalize  his  name 
among  the  friends  of  genuine  chriftianity ;  among  the 
friends  to  religious  toleration  of  every  denomination  ;  a- 
mong  all  the  lovers  of  the  gofpel  unaflbciated  with  and 
unfliackled  by  civil  tyranny,  that  very  conduft  has  by 
ihefe  men  and  thefe  deluded  by  their  influence,  been 
made  iheground  of  their  fallacious  and  unjuflifiable  oppo- 
fition  to  Mr.  Jefferfon's  election. 

His  arguments,  irrefnlibly  perfuafive  arguments,  in  fa- 
vour of  religious  liberty  ;  his  obfervations  on  the  dange- 
rous abfurd  tendency  of  civil  or  legiflative  interpofition  ref- 
peding  religious  opinions  we  may  prefume,  had  no  little 
influence  in  infpiring  the  framers  of  our  excellent  Federal 
Conftitution  with  a  jufl:  fenfe  of  its  importance,  and  confe- 
quently  in  adopting  it  as  one  of  its  mofl:  deftinguiflied 
principles.  Yet,  how  have  thofe  obfervations  and  argu- 
inents  been  abufed  and  perverted  to  difcredit  their  author  ? 
Becaufe,  in  his  Notes  on  Virginia,  he  has  fliewn  in  ilrong 
terms  that  men  who  embrace  the  greatefl:  extremes  of 
Contradiftion  in  their  religious  creeds ; — even  thofe  who 
believe  in  a  Trinity,  and  thofe  who  do  not — or  thofe  who 
believe  in  one  God  or  thofe  who  believe  in  a  plurality,  may, 
notwithilanding,  live  together  in  civil  and  focial  harnony 
and  happinefs,  thefe  defigning  ambitious  fophills  and  par- 
fizanshave  attempted  to  giveit  the  word  poiiible  colouring. 
They  forget  that  cur  excellent  confl:itution  fays,  tho'  in  o- 
ther  words,  the  very  fame  thing.  They  do  notconfider  that 
thofe  very  fentiments  which  Mr.  Jeiferfon  has  there  ex- 
prell'ed,  are  adopted  in  their  fulleft  fcopc  and  fpiritin  our 
national  conditution.  And  confequently  that  inflcad  of 
Mr.  JefTt^rfon  being  vilified  or  reviled  on  account  of  them, 
he  ought  CO  befo  muchthn  more  honoured  by  every  man, 
who  regards  what  that  conftilution  breathes,  teaches  and 
inculcates,  civil  or  religious ;  by  every  man  who  it  proud 
gf  the  zlnl  aad  religious  privilege?  of  uu  AuKrican, 


(     9     ) 

It  is  ovvinj^  in  a  p;reat  degree  to  ihc  patriotic  fervices  of 
ajeflerfon  that  toreign,  and  elpccially  Ikiti'h  hierarchy,  in 
ronneclion,  in  dole  embrace  with  civil  power  has 
not  made  greater  progrefs  among  us  than  it  has.  More 
dangerous  Iteps  have  been  made  towards  its  relloration  in 
this  country,  than  by  many  have  been  well  confulered,  or 
occafioned  a  fuitable  alarm.  Between  its  fpirit  and  that 
of  a  civil  ariftocracy  or  even  monarchy,  there  is  a  greater 
IVmpathy  and  cloftr  connection  than  manv  are  aware  of. 

In  this  (tate,  in  particular,  we  have  felt  its  unconftituti- 
onal,  encroaching,  and  encreafing  influence.  Our  (tate 
conftitution  has,  it  is  true  provided  againfl  it  :  But  feme 
late  ads  can  Ihew  how  far  it  has  been  revered  by  our  le- 
giflators.  Every  encroachment  of  this  nature  on  our  re- 
ligious liberty — every  attempt  to  render  the  ck;rgy  of  a- 
ny  particular  denomination  more  dignified  in  a  temporal 
view  than  thofe  of  another,  Mr.  jefferfon,  to  his  honour 
be  it  told,  oppofed  with  fuccefs  in  Virginia — and  has  con- 
fequently  brought  dov^n  upon  him  the  refentment  of  the 
patrons  of  hierarchical  or  religious  preferencein  Maryland. 

In  illuftration  of  thefs  bbfervations  have  we  not  feen 
that  in  conformity  with  the  old  Britifh  church  fyftem, 
our  legiflature  in  1798  by  an  acl,  known  by  the  name  of 
the  Vejhy  a5l^  have  made  provifion  for  a  fort  of  religious 
location  of  each  county  into  pariflies — locally  defignated 
by  names  implying  a  peculiar  church  j  urifdiiftlon  in  that 
territory  I  Have  we  not  in  that  attfeen  them,  unconiluti- 
onally  alfuming  all  the  fpiritual  prerogative  of  a  bifliop's 
court  in  England  ;  eftablifhing  veilries — and  inflicling 
very  confiderable  fines  and  penalties  on  chofe  who  fliould 
refufe  to  ferve  in  that  capacity  ; — arming  the  paftors  a- 
gainft  their  flock,  with  other  weapons  than  the  author  of 
our  religion  ever  defigned  or  inculcated — creating  and 
enforcing  religious  diflinctions,  and  offices  that  ought  to  be 
perfectly  voluntary,  and  thereby  robbing  their  fellow  crea- 
tures of  that  religious  "  Hberty,  wherewith  Clirift  hath 
made  them  free  ?"  In  conformity  with  the  old  Britifii 
fyftem  of  fpiritual  opprefllon,  have  we  not  feen  them  alfo 
in  that  act,  giving  legal  authority  to  proud  priefls  to  dc- 
fignate  themfelves  local  REC^'ORS  ovcr  dittricts  or  pa- 
rities, even  where  their  own  religious  denomination  is  far 

B 


C    lo    ;" 

from  conftituting  the  mofl:  numerous  or  refpe£lable  body 
of  the  inhabitants  ?  Although  our  flate  conftitution  pro- 
vides againfl;  this  and  every  proud  ufurpation  of  a  hke  na- 
ture ;  although  it  fanftions  no  civil  mark  of  diftinftion, 
efpecially  of  a  local  nature,  which  evidently  mud  tend  to 
give  the  clergy  of  our  denomination,  a  fort  of  titular  and 
local  pre-eminence  over  thofe  of  another  ;  yet  we  find 
that  all  this  our  legiilature,  fince  the  revolution,  has 
done  ; — and  in  doing  fo,  has  confequcntly,  fo  far,  con- 
formed to  that  old,  rotten,  corrupt  and  defpicable  fyftem, 
by  which  the  chriflian  faith,  in  the-hands  of  civil  defpots 
has  been  degraded  into  an  engine  of  flate  policy  ;  has 
been  exhibited  to  the  difgufled  view  of  every  lover  of 
chriflianity  in  its  genuine  fimpucity,  as  the  over-grown 
bloated  monlter  of  temporal  and  fpiritual  tyranny  and  u- 
furpation. 

Now,  have  we  not  wanted  the  abilities  of  a  JefTerfon  in 
this  flate  ?  Have  we  not  wanted  his  patriotic  fervices  and 
exertions  in  behalf  of  that  religious  liberty  we  enjoy  by 
the  conftitution  of  Maryland  ; — that  exemption  from  le- 
giflative  preference  or  partiality  againfl  which  it  was  in- 
tended to  guard  us  ;  but  which  we  fee  has  been  pervert- 
ed and  abufed  ?  And  may  w^e  not  alk  why  has  this  taken 
place  in  a  flate  in  which  we  confidered  our  civil  and  reli- 
gious rights  fo  well  guaranteedby  theconflitution  ?  Why 
•— becaute  no  friend  to  the  rights  of  confcience — no  advo- 
cate for  our  religious  liberties  and  the  genuine  fpirit  of 
chriflianity,  no  enemy  to  legiHative  interpofition  and  par- 
tiality of  equal  talents  and  patriotifm  to  a  Jefferfon,  arofe 
among  us  to  withftand  this  prefumptuous  inlet  to  religi-i 
ous  corruption  and  fpiritual  opprellion. 

Have  the  inhabitants  of  this  flate  fo  foon  forgotten  the 
tyranny  and  ■  abufe,  the  injuries  and  infults  they  fufFered 
from  the  proud  priefls  of  the  Britifh  hierarchy  ?  have  they 
fo  foon  forgotten  the  part  which  thofe  favorite  fons  of  civil 
power,  ever  the  uniform  advocates  of  political  ariftocra- 
cy,  a6led  during  the  revolution  ?  I  fay  have  the  inhabitants 
ot  this  flate  of  every  religious  denomination,  fo  far  for- 
gotten this  as  to  abufe  that  character  for  want  of  religion, 
"whofe  patriotic  principles^d  exertionsbanifliedthehungry 
proud  fwarm  from  our  coafls,  and  whofe  unwearied  fer- 
vices have  alfo  been  nioft  confpicuous  in  endeavouring 


(  ■>  ) 

to  prevent  a  new  liivc  of  our  own  rearinp;,  armed  with 
fimilar  ftings,  from  fwarming  under  the  iinconditutioii-. 
al  funfhine  of    legiflative  partiality^  and  favour. 

Citizens  of  America!  of  all  relicrious  denominations, 
beware  of  interfering  with  the  religion  of  any  man  ccnfi- 
dered  as  a  candidate  for  any  office  your  fullVages  can  con- 
fer. You  know  not  to  what  confequences,  fuch  conduft, 
fo  contemptuous  of  our  conftitution,  may  tend. 

Ye  honell  and  patriotic  Roman  Catholics !   Remember 
that  it  is  not  a  revolution  of  many  years,  fmce  you  were 
denied  the  full  and  free  rights  of  confcience  in  thsfe  flates 
— Reflect  that  it  is  not  long  fmce  you  durfl  not  rear  a 
decent  chapel  in  thefe  lands  for  that  religion  you  profcfs. 
— RefletSt    how  your  anceftors   were   driven  either  from 
England,  on  account  of  what  Mr.  Jefferfon  has  contend- 
ed againfl  in  this    country,  namely,  the  interference  of 
the  legiflature  with  the  rights  of  confcience  ; — or  out  of 
Ireland,  by  thofe  fanguinary  and  penal  codes,  to  whicji 
on  account  of  your  religion  you  were  doomed  by  the  in- 
tole-'ant    fpirit  of  proud  ecclefiallics,  who  were  fanftion- 
ed  by  a  temporal  defpot  as  head  of  the  church.     Recall 
to  mind    the   bloodihed,  fufferings    and   perfecutions  of 
your  catholic  anceftry  in  England  and  in  Ireland  efpeci?!- 
ly — enllaved,    deprefled,  degraded   and  trampled  upon, 
merely  on  account  of  their  rehgion  ;  and  being  deprived 
of  every  civil  and  religious  right,  that   can   dignify  the 
name  of  man  or  citizen  ; — And  then  refolve  whether  you 
can,  pofTibly,  join  in   oppofmg  the  man  on  account  of 
religion,  who   has  mofl  ably    laboured  throughout  life, 
that  you  might  enjoy  the  free  exercife  of  your's.     You 
join  in  politics  with  men  who  ardently  pray  for  the  land 
of  your  anceftor's,  being  defolated  by  Britiih  yengeance  J 
her     inhabitants  butchered   with    wanton    cruelty,   be- 
caufe  they  have  dared  to  oppofe  that  monflrous  combina- 
tion of  civil  and  prelatic  power,  under  which  they  had 
for  centuries  groaned  ; — And  you  reject  a'Jefl'erfon  whofe 
fervices  have  eminently  tended  to  pieferve  you  and  your 
religion  from  a  fimilar  yoke  here  !  and  who  alfo  has  uni- 
formly fympathifed  with  your  oppreffed,  degraded  and  in- 
jured brethren  over  the  Brilifh  dominions.  Beware,  then, 
of  allowing  religious  feuds,  prejudices   or  partialities  to 
laingle  themfelves  with  your  civil  rights  j  with  your  free 


(  12  ) 

unbialTed  exerclfe  of  the  rights  of  fuitVage  ;  uhich  our 
conftitution  informs  us,  has  nothing  to  do  with  any  man's 
religion.  Would  you  be  fatisfied  that  any  man  fhould  be 
rejected  from  a  public  truft,  or  office,  merely  on  account 
of  his  being  a  Catholic  ?  li  you  would  not,  then  be  not  ac- 
tuated by  a  like  principle  towards  theirs  \ — more  efpeeial- 
ly  towards  a  man  who  has  ever  been  the  able  and  zealous 
patron  of  religious  lib'srty. 

Ye  honeft  and  patriotic  members  of  the  Proteftant  E- 
pifcopal  Church  !  has  not  Mr.  Jelierfon  been  educated  in 
in    the   bed    principles    of    that   church    in   which    you 
believe  ?  are  you  not  alfo  impreifed  with  the  importance 
of  religious  liberty  to  a  free  independent  commonwealth, 
wdiere  there  are  fo   many  various  denominations  ;   and  a- 
mong  which  you,  by  no  means  conflitute  the   largeft,  or 
mod  numerous  body,  taking  all  the  dates  into  view.   Have 
your  clergy    at   any  period    of  your    church-hiftory   in 
thefe  dates,  been   more  worthy  your  fupport,  as  faithful 
padors,  than  fmce  they  received  leaft  of   legiflative  patro- 
nage and  fupport  ?  Do  you  think  that  their  being  taught 
to  look  to  the  date  and  not  to  you  for  their  temporal  boon, 
would  make  them  more  faithful   in  their  duty  to  you  ? 
Do  you  think    it  conditutional  in  the    date  legiflature  to 
arm  them  with  laws  to  inflid  fines  or  penalties  on  you  ? — 
"Will  it  tend  to  make  them  better  men  ;  or  you  better  chrif- 
tians?  I  anifure  vou  are  neither  foweak  nor  fo  wicked  as  to 
believe  fo.     Should  a  contracted  or  bigoted  policy   influ- 
ence the   legiflature  of  this  date,  contrary  to  its  condituti- 
on,  by  fuch  laws  as  that  of    the   Vestry   j^d,    ro    give 
your  clergymen    a    local    confequence    and   fuperiority. 
to   the  clergy  of    other  denominations,   interfperfed  a- 
mong  them  in    every  parifh  over  the  flate,  may  not  this 
lead  to  retaliation  by  other  dates  in  the  union  where  you 
are  not  the  mod  refpeCtable  in  numbers ; — and  thus  tend 
not  to  promote  ;  but    to  check  that  chidian  benevolence 
and  harmony  which  every  where  ought  to  fubfid  among 
the  miniders  of  religion  of  all  denominations  ? 

If  you  be  fenlibie  of  thefe  truths,  then  reflect  on  the 
patriotic  fervices  of  a  Jefferfon  in  the  caufe  of  religious  li- 
berty. It  is  he  who  has  taken  the  lead  in  reducing  your 
church,  in  thefe  ftates  to  its  primitive  fimplicity  and  inde- 
pendence on  civil  power — and  to  that  condition  which  is 
bed  Crtlculttted  to  enable  you  and  your  J)oderity  to  enjoy 


C     '3     ] 

the  religious  Improvements  of  its  befl  principJes  and  doc« 
trines,  without  leeing  it  the  degraded,  corrupted  tool  of 
civil  tyranny  S:  oppreilion.  You  mult  be  blind  to  all  thoCe 
mod  intcielling  and  important  advantages,  if  you  are  not 
o^ratefull  y  lenfiblc  of  uhat  Mr.  Jellerfon  has  done  for  your 
church  in  particular,  and  religion  in  general,  in  ihefe  ref- 
petts,    even  lince  the  revolution. 

Ye  zealous  and  pioufly  patriotic  members  of  the  Me- 
thodift  Churches  ?  ye,  too,  are  interefted  in  keeping  po- 
litical and  religious  influence  apart.  Ic  is  not  pofiible  that 
you  can  approve  any  fuch  nionflrous  marriage  ; — any 
iuch  unnatural  union.  Are  ye  not  a  reformed  Progeny  ; 
— an  infant  church  that  may  be  faid  to  have  arifen  from 
the  effects  of  that  corrupting  combination  ?  Was  it  noi. 
from  this  heterogeneous  union  of  civil  and  religious  pov>er, 
that  all  that  degeneracy  took  place  which  occafioned  a 
Wes/eyy  and  all  your  mofl  pious  and  able  founders  to  leave 
the  infectious  bofom  of  old  mother  church  ellabhlliment, 
and  adopt  a  lefs  corrupt  and  more  pious  fyftem  ?  If  then, 
you  be  fenfible  of  this  truth  ;  if  you  have  experienced  in 
your  fuccefs  the  happy  effedls  of  religious  liberty  ;  if  It  has 
been  the  means  of  enabling  you,  under  the  difpenfations 
of  Providence,  to  accomplilh  the  reformation  of  thou- 
fiands  and  tens  of  thoufands  of  thofe  previoufly  given  over 
to  an  abandoned  and  profligate  life  ; — will  you  not  cherifa 
a  fultable  tribute  of  gratitude  to  that  patriot  who  has  la- 
boured through  life,  to  prevent  that  degeneracy  in  reli- 
gion which  every  where  mud  arife  from  a  combination  be- 
tween legiflators  or  civil  governments — and  thofe  proud 
prlefls  who  feek  to  ball;  under  th^Ir  funfliine — rather 
than  that  refpectability  which  Is  derived  alone  from  the  a- 
ble  and  faithful  difcharge  of  their  duty  in  the  churches  ? 
Surely  you  can  never  approve  of  bafely  calumniating  that 
character  to  whofe  exemplary  exertions  in  the  caufe  of  re- 
ligious liberty,  yours  as  much  as  any  other  denomination 
of  chriflians  is  fo  much  indebted. 

Ye  who  bear  the  defignation  of  the  pious  and  chrlflian 
Friends  !  Are  ye  not  alfo  grateful  for  any  fervice,  howe- 
ver fmall,  in  fuch  a  caufe  ?  How  many  of  your  fociety  are 
fcattered  over  the  various  flates  in  the  Union  ?  Would 
you  wHh  to  fee  them  as  they  are  in  England  punifhed  and 
perfecute4  for  con fclence- fake  t     In  Virginia,  efpeciallyj. 


C     14     ] 

lias  nota  Jefferfon  been  the  able  advocate  of  their  religious 
rights  ?  Has  he  not  by  the  law,  here  introduced  to  your 
notice,  been  the  inftrument,  under  Providence,  of  fecur- 
ing  to  them  the  rights  of  confcience,  free  from  the  penal- 
ty of  being  fubjefted  to  any  undue  pre-eminence  in  other 
denominations  ?  And  are  you  infenfible  of  thofe  fervices?" 
No,  you  cannot  be  ;  your  hearts  bleed  too  feelingly  for 
the  hundreds  of  your  I'uiFering  fociety  that  in  the  Englifli 
dominions,  and  other  eftabliihed  hierarchies  ;  under  an 
intolerant  bench  of  fpiritual  Lords  over  God*s  heritage, 
are  coniigned  frequently  to  the  gloomy  dungeon  for  con- 
fcience-fake. 

I  fay,  my  pious  Friends  !  your  hearts,  bleed  too  feeling- 
ly for  their  fufferings  and  oppreffion  ;  their  fines  and  im- 
prifonments,  not  to  be  duly  grateful  to  the  man,  who  in 
this  country,  more  than  any  other  public  character,  has 
directly  oppofed  a  fmiilar  fyftem  being  adopted  in  Virginia, 
and  probably  from  its  example,  in  other  flates  of  the  U- 
nion. 

Independent  of  thefe  confiderations,  fo  near  to  your 
feelings  and  principles,  you  mufl,  you  cannot  but  ap- 
prove of  that  hatred  to  ilavery  in  every  point  of  view  ;  to 
that  tyranny  and  oppreffion,  of  every  fpecies  ;  that  phi- 
lanthropy and  benevolence  towards  man  in  every  ftate  and 
under  every  defignation  for  which  the  life  of  a  Jefferson 
is  fo  exemplary  and  uniformly  illuftrious.  In  the  filence, 
the  calm  peaceful  filence  of  your  own  breads,  impartially 
ueigh  and  refled  what  is  due  from  you  and  from  Ameri- 
ca, to  fuch  a  character;  and  I  have  no  fear  but  you  will 
reduce  it  to  pradice  in  your  conduft. 

Ye  various,  patriotic  and  pious  members  of  the  Reform- 
ed Churches  in  America,  by  whatever  name  defignatcd  by 
men.  Whether  Prefbytcrians,  Baptifts,  Secedars,  or 
Covenantors — Some  of  you  in  thole  very  dcfignations, 
fhew,  what  you  have  fuffered  from  court-perfecution,  and 
the  idolized  Dagon  of  Prelacy,  and  church  eflablifliment. 
It  has  been  the  boafl  of  your  greatell  worthies,  and  long 
and  refpeftable  is  their  honoured  lill ; — that  they  bled  in 
the  caufe  of  religious  freedom,  in  oppofition  to  the  bloody 
and  perfecuting  fpirit  of  proud  hierarchy  and  religious 
natural  eftablifhments  by  the  encroachments  and  ambitioa 
of  titled  ccclefiaftics* 


C     '5     ] 

As  you  revere  that  glorious  anceflry  who  were  martyred 
in  this  caule  ;  as  you  value  the  divine  advantages  of 
religious  liberty  and  the  rights  of  confcience  to  you 
and  your  pollerity,  you  will  venerate  the  man,  who  of  all 
the  great  political  charadlers  in  this  country  next  to  a 
Wajhii.gton,  has  mod  uniformly  vindicated  and  ably  af- 
feried  the  equal  conftitutional  claim  of  all  religious  deno- 
minations, in  thefe  Hates,  to  religious  liberty. 

If  any  of  your  clergy  be  fo  ignorant  of  this,  or  fo  vain 
cf  one  prefident  being  of  their  denomination,  as  to  declaim 
againft  one  of  any  other,  reflect  on  the  confequences  of  fo 
narrow,  illiberal  and  unconftitutional  a  principle.  Let  no 
fuch  bigotry  difgrace  your  condu£l  or  patriotifm.  No 
political  character,  exifting  in  thefe  (fates,  at  this  moment, 
has  done  as  much  in  favour  of  that  form  of  ecclefiaftic 
or  church  government  which  you  approve,  as  Mr.  Jefter- 
fon  ; — none  who  has  fo  illuftrioully  oppofed  the  firft  in- 
roads of  ecclefiaftic  encroachment.  For  this  it  is  that  he 
has  incurred  the  odium  of  fpiritual  tyrants  of  all  religious 
denominations.  For  this  it  is  that  he  is  fo  obnoxious  to 
every  clerical  high-toned  churchman,  who  with  the  cha- 
racter and  ambition  of  aBifliop  Sharpe^  has  beenfceking  to 
reduce  this  ftate  in  particular  to  the  old  yoke  of  ecclefia- 
flical  bondage  ;  and  will  you  join  in  the  foul-mouthed  cry 
of  foreign  breathed  bigotry,  and  unconftitutional  cplumny. 
O  let  it  nut  be  faid  amidft  the  aftemblies  of  the  people! — 
Name  it  not  in  the  congregations  of  the  friends  of  rehgious 
liberty. 

Men  of  every  religious  perfuafion  !  weigh  in  your  own 

candid  minds    thefe   admonitory  hints.  Try  them  by  the 

ftandard  of  truth  and   the  principles  of  our  conftltution. 

None  of  you  can  hold  in   {greater  abhorrence  all  reli<iious 
•      -  .  .       .         .     .  .  . 

licencloufnefs  ; — all  infidelity  in  principle  or  in   practice 

than  the  writer  of  thefe  ftridtures.     Were  I  not  convinced 

that  all  theclamour  and  calumny  againft  Mr.  Jcfferfon  on 

account   of  religion  is  mere  electioneering  impofition,  I 

would  be   as  far  from    attempting   his  Vindication  as  any 

of  you  can  be.     Let  then  thefe  obfervations  have  their  due 

weight,  and  I  venture  to  pronounce  that  every  honeft  and 

candid  mind  will  join  with  me  in  opinion.     My  conviction 

is  founded  on  the  facts  here  fubmitted  to  your  attention. 

Read  the  Vestry  Jd  paffed  by  the  legiflature  of  this  ftate  in 

17985  and  think  for  yourfelves.     Contraft  this  urjuft. 


■        t     "6     3 

parthland  unconPiitutlonaladl:,  with  t-hat  excellent;,  and  I 
may  add  pious  preamble  to  the  Virginia  a6l,  on  the  fubjeQ: 
of  religion,  and  fay  whether  your  own  legiflature,  or  Mr. 
Jefferfon  from  whofe  diftinguifhed  pen  proceeded  that  ad, 
have  been  the  bed  friends  to  religious  liberty  :  which  o-f 
them  breathes  a  fpirit  moll  confonant  with  the  various  civil 
and  religious  interefts  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  and  all  the 
ether  ftates  in  the  union. 

No  doubt  need  exifl  of  the  Virginia  aft,  here  brought 
into  view,  having  been  drawn  up  by  Mr,  Jefferfon.  At- 
teflations  to  this  died:  could  eafily  be  procured  if  necefiary. 
Along  with  this  confider  that  the  greater  part  of  thofe  men 
who  make  the  greatefl  out-cry  againil  him  on  account  of 
of  rehgion  ;  live,  themfelves  the  Ufe  of  atheills — -and  give 
little,  if  any  countenance  to  the  fupportof  the  chriftian  re- 
ligion and  the  caufe  of  general  piety.  They  feek,  in  my 
opinion,  M-ickedly  feek,  in  the  very  face  of  the  conflituti- 
on  of  the  United  States,  to  make  religion  what  it  is  in  En- 
gland, a  ftate  tool,  by  which  they  hypocritically  impofe  on 
fuch  of  the  unfufpeding  part  of  the  community  as  have 
mofl  piety  and  religion  at  heart. 

When  fuch  men  fpeak  of  any  of  you,  of  any  denomi- 
nation, who  are  truly  pious  or  religious,  they  pronounce 
yoi' bigoted  enthufiafts,  fanatical  puritants  and  hypocrites; 
and  that  merely  becaufe  you  manifeft  fome  regard  for  the 
worfliip  of  God  ;  while  at  the  fame  time  theyhave  the  im- 
.pudence  to  impofe  upon  you  and  the  public  by  a  pretended 
zeal  for  religion,  when  they  think  this  may  fait  fome  am- 
bitious party  purpofe,  and  hefitate  not  to  calumniate  a 
character  dignified  with  the  vice  prefidency  of  the  Unit- 
ed States — who  even  on  the  fuppofition  that  their  infamous 
charge  on  account  of  rehgion  was  true,  would  hardly  be 
reduced  to  the  fame  grade  of  guilt,  in  that  refpcct,  with 
his  fcandalous  revilers. 

Will  any  man  of  fenfe  or  virtue  pretend  to  vindicate 
fuch  condud?  Surely  they  cannot  -,  it  can  only  be  didated 
by  the  moft  malignant  fpirit  of  party-animof]ty,andought 
to  be  beneath  men  of  any  fenfe  of  honour,  even  though 
they  had  no  regard  for  religion. 

Obliged  to  rclinquifh  the  infamous  charge  of  "  Jibei/m" 
— theynext  attack  Mr.  Jefferfon's  charadler  with  that  of 
"Deisj^ij"  or  in  other  words  that  he  rejects  the  fcripturcs  & 


(     >7     ) 

!«  divine  revelation.  But  let  us  examine  candiJlv,  whether 
this  calumny  be  not  equally  groundlefs  as  the  former.  !u 
various  parts  of  that  gentleman's  publications  we  fmd  him 
exprefs  himfelt  in  the  molt  relpectlul  manner  of  God  and 
his  holy  religion.  In  particular  in  his  notes  on  Virginia,  hj 
fpeaks  ot  the  divine  perfections  &  attributes,  in  a  manner 
and  ftyle  which  could  only  be  derived  from  his  acquain- 
tance with,  and  belief  in  the  word  of  God.  The  greateit 
philofophersthat  ever  lived  in  the  world,  Ariftotle  Socrates, 
Pinto  or  Cicero  among  the  ancients, and  even  the  mod  illus- 
trious among  the  modern  men,  were  never  able  to  attain  any 
juft  ideas  of  the  Divine  Being,but  fuch  as  they  derived  from 
a  knowledge  of  the  Divine  Revelation.  When  Mr.  Jcifer- 
fon,  then,  fpeaks  of  all  the  glorious  attributes  of  the  Deity, 
his  intinite  julfice,  goodnefs  and  wifdom  ;  tell  me,  ye  whi> 
dare  to  fay  that  he  has  no  religion,  whence  he  derived 
thofe  ideas,  but  from  divine  revelation  ?  Thefc  fentiments 
of  God  and  religion  could,  I  fiiy,  have  been  derived  only 
from  his  knowledge  of  the  fcriptures- 

The  avowed  and  publiflied  declarations  Mr.  Jefferfoii 
has  made  in  favour  of  revealed  religion  are  various  ;  and 
to  be  found  almost  in  every  publication  of  importaiice 
that  has  come  from  his  pen. 

•  Is  there  an  American  ignorant  of  the  Declaration  of  A- 
rierica^ s  Independence  ;  h  to  whom  it  owes  its  dignified  Ityle 
and  fentiments,  equally  pious  and  patriotic  ? 

This  ever  memorable  Inflrument  which  ought  to  be 
indelibly  engraven  on  every  heart,  in  its  introduclion  is 
as  follows  :— 

"  When  in  the  courfe  of  human  events,  it  becomes  ne- 
*'  ceflary  for  one  people  to  dilfolve  the  political  bands 
"  which  have  connected  them  with  another,  and  to  af- 
"  fume  among  the  powers  of  the  earth  the  fcparate  and 
**  equal  Ration  to  which  the  Lav/s  of  nature,  and  of  Na- 
*'  ture's  God  entitled  them,  a  decent  refpect  to  the- 
**  opinions  of  mankind  requires  that  they  Ihould  declare 
**  the  caufes  which  impel  them  to  the  feparation.'* 

"  We  hold  thefe  truths  to  be  felf  evident,  that  all  men 
"  are  created  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Cre- 
*'  ATOR  with  certain  unalienable  rights,  &:c.'* 

When  we  read  f-ich  fentiments  as  the  above  j  w  hca  in 

C 


(     "8    ) 

the  folenm  accents  of  as  folemn  a  tranfadion  as  is  in  tile 
power  of  a  great  people  to  perform,  we  find  every  thing  to 
them  that  is  dear  and  facred  founded  on  the  Laws  and 
confequently  the  will  of  GOD — How  illiberal,  how  pre- 
fumptuous  is  it  in  any  of  that  people  to  fay  that  the  au- 
thor denied  thofe  laws  or  that  revealed  ivUl  of  God^ 

Where  we  lind,  even  our  temporal  rights  and  privileges 
as  alfo  our  bodily  or  mental  endowments  affigned  to  the 
great  Creator,  is  it  charitable  ;  is  it  liberal  ;  is  it  like 
chrillians,  to  fay  that  the  author  of  fuch  fentiments  is  a 
man  v/ho  denies  his  Creator*s  exiitence  ;  the  immortality 
of  the  human  foul- — and  all  the  foul-exalting  doftrines  of 
rdigion?  Whatever  party,  or  party  men  are  fo  mean  as 
to  Itoop  to  fuch  defamation  of  character  ; — fuch  proftitu- 
tion  of  truth  ; — fuch  ungenerous  opprobium  ;  inftead  of 
fhewing  you,  my  fellow-citizens,  that  Mr.  Jefferson, 
the  author  of  the  preceding  fentiments,  in  that  blefled, 
that  pious,  that  hallowed  instrument,  that  feparated  your 
necks  from  the  tyrant's  yoke  ;  I  fay,  the  men  who  would 
charge  religious  infidelity  on  the  author  of  fuch  fentiments, 
only  {liew  you  that  they  themfelves  are  deftituie  of  religi* 
on  ;  are  devoid  of  every  ennobling  principle  of  religion 
that  chriftianity  inculcates. 

To  have  no  charity  for  our  neighbour's  or  fellow-citi- 
zen's name  or  fame  ;  to  perfecute,  flander  and  revile  on  no 
better  proof  than  mere  prefumption,  is  direaly  oppofite  to 
the  moft  amiable  and  divine  dictates  of  that  religion  we 
profefs— but  when  this  is  cheriilied  towards  a  man,  whofe 
whole  life,  it  may  be  faid,  has  been  zealoufly,  ably  and 
faithfully  devoted  to  the  maintaining  the  civil  and  religious 
rights  oi  his  country — language  is  at  a  lofs  for  fuitable  e* 
pithcrs  to  exprefs  the  malignity,  cruelty,  barbarifm,  and  I 
mavadd,  irrcllgion    of  fuch  conduct. 

But  another  proof  of  his  regard  for  the  word  of  God, 
and  its  being  encouraged  and  patronifcd  by  fuch  public 
and  patriotic  characters  as  thofe  who  hold  the  chief  place 
in  [he  government  of  the  United  States,  we  find  m  his 
iubfcribing,  fome  time  fince,  to  the  moft  expcnfive  and 
liand'oir.e  edition  of  the  word  of  God  ever  publillied  in 
il  eie  Hates.  I  allude  to  the  Ilot-Prefs  Bible  publiflicd  at 
Philadelphia  j  a  work,  which  in  every  point  cf  view,  doss 


(     19     ) 

honor  to  the  editors,  and  all  the  friends  of"  religion  who 
have  patronifed  it. 

Now,  notwlthftandlng  all  the  noife  that  the  opponents 
to  Mr.  Jeflerlbn  make  about  his  want  of  religion,  we  find 
his  honoured  name  in  the  lift  of  its  patrons,  while  many 
of  thofe  whofe  pretended  fuperior  regard  to  religion  and 
its  encouragement,  are  not  to  be  found  there.  Thus  it  is, 
that,  for  eledioneering  purpofes  we  find  many  v.  ho,  pro- 
bably, never  had  a  bible  in  their  families,  crying  out  a- 
gain(t  Mr.  Jefferfon  for  denyingthe  facred  volume,  ahhough 
we  find  him  its  public  patron,  introducing  it,  in  its  mod! 
refpeclable  appearance,  to  his  family  ;  and  thus  giving 
the  moft  dignified  countenance  and  fupport  to  the  moft 
valuable  edition  of  the  fcriptures  ever  publiflied  in  Ame- 
rica. 

Citizens  of  the  United  States,  in  general,  and  of  Mary- 
land in  particular,  whatever  may  be  your  religious  creed, 
profeflion  or  denomination— confider  well  what  has  been 
here,  in  truth  and  fincerity,  fubmitted  to  your  attention. 
Proofs  of  all  here  advanced,  are  eafy  to  be  attained, 
they  are  in  the  hands  of  the  public  ;  and  no  man  of  m- 
formation  whofe  face  has  not  been  hardened  by  want  ol' 
principle  can  deny  them  ;  if  fo,  you  can  have  nothing  to 
fear  from  Mr.  Jefferfon's  want  of  regard  to  religion  ;  or 
the  free  exercifeofit  by  thofe  of  every  church  or  denomi- 
nation. 

Has  he  ever  undertaken  any  office  for  his  country,  that 
he  has  not  fulfilled  with  honour  and  approbation — for 
which  he  has  not  received  his  country's  thanks.  What 
man  ever  more  fully  and  fincerely  en;oycd  the  confidence 
of  a  Wajhington  than  Mr.  Jefferfon;  has  he  not  fingled  him 
out  for  particular  trufls  and  offices  of  importance,  from  a- 
among  his  co-patriots  of  the  highcd  merit  ?  Can  you  then 
for  a  moment  fuppofe,  that  this  long  tried  patriot  through 
the  worfl:  and  beft  of  times — I  fay  can  you  poili'oly  fuj^pofe 
that  this  man  of  untarnifhed  fame  and  merit,  after  all  lie 
has  voluntarily  done,  in  behalf  of  religious  liberty,  when 
the  zeal  of  other  patriots  w^as  either  cold  or  at  beft 
luke  warm  on  the  fubjecl,  would  be  lefs  attentive  to  the 
facred  religiou.=;  rights  of  his  fellow  citizens,  when  elevat- 
ed by  their  fulTrages  to  the  prefidency  of  thefe  ftates  ? 


C    20   ] 

The  fiippofiilon  is  too  prepofterous  and  abfurd  to  be  fo 
calculated  upon  by  any  principles  of  truth  or  candour. 

it  is  the  province  of  mere  clamour  and  falfe  alarm  to 
turn  the  attention  off  from  where  the  real  danger  lies. 
Thus,  while  many  of  our  {late  patriots  are  thundering 
out  anathemas  again  ft  Mr.  Jefferfon  on  the  fcore  of  reli- 
gion :  "i  hey  thcmlclves  have  lately  been  fapping  the  very 
conflitutioual  foundation  of  our  religious  rights  ;  have 
enacted  laws  that  give  an  evident  fuperiority  to  a  particu- 
lar denomination,  or  at  lead  to  its  clergy,  in  open  vio- 
lation of  the  Hate  conftitution  ;  of  the  individual  or  per- 
fonal  rights  of  the  members  of  that  church  themfelves  ; 
and  in  violation  aifo  of  that  equal  claim  to  refpe^labili- 
ty  in  fociety,  which  every  religious  denomination  in  Ma- 
ryland ought  to  enjoy,  inas  far,  efpecially,  as  any  local  di- 
vifiun  into  parifiies  can  confer  or  fecure  that  claim. 

This  may  ferve  to  fliew  you  how  much  depends  on 
the  men  you  choofe  to  reprefent  you  in  the  (tate  aflembly  ; 
ihould  the  iuture  perfevere  in  the  fame  partial  policy  that 
fome  of  the  ftate  legiflatures  have  done  ;  experience  {hews 
you  I  hope  that  your  religious  liberty  has  infinitely  more 
to  fear  from  them  than  from  Mr.  Jefferfon. 

Freemen  of  Maryland  !  If  you  have  then  any  regard 
for  your  civil  and  religious  rights ;  rights  which  if  you  do 
your  duty,  your  conftitution  fecures  to  you  againft  every 
inroad,  you  will  give  thefe  obfervations  your  candid  at- 
tention ;  you  will  not  be. cajoled  into  the  bafe  office  of 
defaming  a  charafter  which,  for  more  than  twenty-five 
years  has  borne  a  diftinguifhed  Ihare  in  the  fervices  and 
councils  of  his  countrv  ;  who  has  for  you  braved  dan- 
ger in  various  forms — Whofe  perlon,  on  account  of  his 
incorruptible  and  fiern  patriotifm  has  ever  been  moll 
inimical  to  the  tyrants  who  fought  to  put  you  under 
the  yoke  of  both  civil  and  religious  bondage  and  oppref- 
iion — whofe  property,  or  at  lead  all  of  it  that  the  Hames 
could  deliroy — his  houfes,  furniture,  flock,  fences,  &c. 
&€.  were  configncd  to  one  general  conflagration  •;  and 
on  whole  invaluable  head  the  hordes  oi  Britifh  babari- 
ans  had  fct  more  th.an  an  ordinary  price. 

If  to  fuch  a  character  you  want  gratitude — If  for  fuch 
s  man  you  have  nothing  better  than  vile  calumny,  and 
low  clecUoaecring  abufc  aad  fcurrility,  I  hefitate  not  to 


\ 


C    -I    ] 

pronounce  that  you  yourfclvcs  arc  neither  entitled  to 
the  name  of  men,  nor  Americans;  and  fur  lefs  have 
you  any  well  founded  pretenfion  to  the  rdi^^ious  cha- 
racter of  the  fincere  chrillian. 

Americans!  think,  then  on  this  fubjetft;  and  after  all, 
fhould  any  of  you  be  led  to  judge  any  other  man  iii 
thefe  Hates  better  entitled  by  merit  and  pall  fervices  to 
the  prefidency — ad  like  men,  and  not  like  mean,  cajol- 
ed, dadardly  flavcs — ad  like  yourfelvcs— and  dare  to  be 
independent  of  every  overbearing,  tyrannical,  ambitious 
party  fpirit. 

Let  every  charscler— every  patriot ;  whether  an  Adams 
or  a  Jeiierfon,  candidly  have  their  due  ;  rob  them  not  of 
any  claim,  any  well  won  claim  to  their  country's  con- 
fidence and  approbation.  Nothing  extenuate  ; — and  ftill 
lefs  fet  down  againft  them  in  flander  or  malice.  But, 
above  all,  defcend  not  to  the  low  eledioneering  artifice 
of  holding  up  to  public  odium  againft  any  candidate,  any 
charge,  on  account  of  which,  even  if  authenticated,  our 
national  conftitution  has  laid  no  prohibitory  exclufion 
from  any  place  of  trull  or  emolument  in  the  power  of  your 
fuiFrages  to  confer. 

Should  thefe  few  ftrldures  affift  in  leading  any  of  you, 
who  have  been  mifmformed,  to  a  better  underftandin'x  of 
what  has  been  their  fubj^l:  : — and  if  they  fliould  in  any 
degree,  have  tended  on  an  impartial,  candid  perufal,  to 
fee  afide  what  the  writer  confiders  a  very  unjuftand  un- 
conftitutional  flab  at  the  character  of  a  man  who  has, 
from  youth  up  to  hoary  years,  been  employed  in  his  coun- 
try's mod  honourable  fervice,  I  fliall  think  the  hour  I  have 
devoted  to  thepurpofe  one  of  the  happieft  and  beft  fpent 
in  all  my  life  ; — and  I  would  fondly  hope  not  altogether 
uninterefting  or  unfcrviceable  to  my  Fellow-Citizens,  of 
every  religious  denominationo 


ji  F7iend  io  real  Religion. 


/^ 


,f«>  #• 


*  ^ 


v** 


i. 


Date  Due 

. 

^ 

